Advancement Office Update Partners for Life

Katie Jo Walter

At Woodstock School’s Advancement and Alumni Office, Alumni Relations Manager Ady Manral, Alumni Office Coordinator and Data Specialist Sanchali Chakraborty, Archives Consultant Bob Shoemaker, and I work to serve the current and long-term interests of our school and our community. We take a service-minded approach as we work to create and sustain a global network of thriving professionals and lifelong learners providing mutual support to each other and the school. We work with you, our global family, based on an amazingly simple premise: We care about you. We care about what you care about. And we want you to be a voice in our community.

SHARED COMMITMENT: THE KEY TO TAKING SHARED VALUES FORWARD

Our Woodstock Distinctives on pages 54 and 55 illustrate our shared values and interests related to Woodstock. As part of the Strategic Plan Guiding Group, I worked with Jamie Williams, Director of the Centre for Imagination, to define these distinctives based on the feedback of hundreds of Woodstock stakeholders (see Dr Cook’s message at the beginning of this edition of the Quadrangle).

I’ve gained an understanding of and appreciation for who we are as a community and for what we need to do if we are to bring that community to its greatest potential in service to the world in which we currently live. The Woodstock Distinctives are already a big part of who we are, and the school and its stakeholders need to work in committed partnership to optimize them and keep them at the forefront. Here I’m sharing what we need to do and how you can be involved.

ENGAGEMENT: THE KEY TO SUSTAINING WOODSTOCK’S CULTURE

We look to all our community members to sustain Woodstock’s culture, both with current students on campus and across our global community of lifelong learners. Some outstanding examples are the Alumni Artists Residency, Entrepreneurship Fest, and many sessions with alumni that have been facilitated via the Centre for Imagination, as well as our burgeoning Alumni Affinity groups initiated by Sharon Seto ’79 and facilitated by Ady. Write to us at alumni@ woodstock.ac.in to share your interests and ideas.

Reunions and gatherings - whether in person or virtual, on campus, or around the world - remain exciting ways to reconnect, to get to know new Woodstockers, and to create new memories. Attendees can network with others with similar interests while learning and finding new areas to be excited about. Woodstock School once again partnered with FWS for a virtual reunion this past summer, and we plan to host the next one in 2023. FWS, too, has an exciting annual reunion full of the enriching sessions you have come to know and love, coming up next fall. Our next round of milestone reunions on campus will also be something to celebrate, as Mela, Homecoming, and the Hanifl Alumni Trek are back in 2023.

PROMOTION: THE KEY TO A COMMUNITY THAT REFLECTS OUR VALUES

Woodstock’s value is not easily communicated through concise marketing materials, and we love that about ourselves. YOU, as alumni who have been and remain part of our global living and learning community, are our greatest communications asset - and yes, that includes our alum and Director of Communications Kenton Beachy ’78. You are best situated to speak to potential parents as well as faculty and other professionals about choosing Woodstock.

We’re also enthusiastic for you to work at Woodstock and/or send your own children to Woodstock. One particularly exciting venue for you to do this is Woodstock Summer School, a 10-day program for high school-aged students that gives them a glimpse into living and learning on the hillside. You can come, too, and enjoy the hillside while your young family members are with us. Alumni receive a 20% discount on Summer School fees, and we have a category of financial aid designated for alumni demonstrating financial need. Our commitment is there, and Director of Admissions Vidur Kapur ’00 is ready to help. Reach out to admissions@woodstock.ac.in or summer@woodstock.ac.in for details.

GIVING: THE KEY TO ACHIEVING ASPIRATIONS RATHER THAN MERELY COVERING OPERATIONS

Woodstock School can currently cover its annual expenses, but like any nonprofit educational institution needs continued philanthropic support to meet its goals. The growth areas discussed below can be covered in part by the school. However, if we’re to ensure the ultimate successs and long-term viability of our Woodstock Distinctives, we need additional funding support from our community. We need you to be a part of the aspirational evolution of our school by including us in your giving as and when you can.

Recently: The Renovations

During the pandemic we turned crisis into opportunity as we undertook the building and renovation of our new spaces, keeping faith that our community would not only survive but thrive as well. We’re proud of our new spaces and, as future building and renovation needs present themselves, we’ll be seeking support to maintain the quality, community-driven, and sustainabilityfocused heritage architecture that has characterized our recent upgrades and provided livelihoods and skills development for local labourers.

Even More Recently

Several of our latest renovations in the High School and Quad Music Block still need support. Parker Hall is also due for renovation that is both in keeping with its iconic status and capable of meeting the needs of a modern performance and event space. While Woodstock covers a portion of these costs, the school cannot fund these upgrades completely.

Now: Attracting and Keeping Students, Teachers, and Staff Who are the Right Fit

Now that we can again confidently encourage students, faculty, and staff in more distant locations to consider coming to live and learn at Woodstock, our focus is turning toward scholarships and attractive compensation packages to attract and retain bright, diverse individuals who are the perfect fit for Woodstock.

Our Scholars for Peace Endowment, which provides full tuition for high-need, highperforming students from fragile states or conflict-affected regions, is one notable example. Again, Woodstock is putting resources into these areas, but for them to succeed fully and thrive, they need philanthropic support.

We are also reinvigorating our local community connections and reinforcing our commitment to our employees. The Community Engagement Fund and funds such as the Employees’ Children’s Education Fund, Luminescence Fund, and Employees’ Benevolent Fund can all use added support. Our current Woodstock community efforts around the Employees’ Children’s Education Fund are highly encouraging.

Going Forward: Securing Woodstock’s Future

We also need to establish longer-term support mechanisms for our bigger goals. It’s unusual for a school like Woodstock with such a long-established legacy to lack a school endowment. We need to grow an endowment so that Woodstock can continue to build upon its strengths and optimize its unique contributions for years to come. We also need to build our contingency fund. If a tragedy such as another pandemic were to halt all operations at Woodstock and force the return of current year tuition, within a short amount of time the continuation of the school would be imperiled.

I want to work with you so that your support goes where you care about most. All amounts are welcome and help us achieve our goals. Please see our Woodstock School ways to give website to learn more (https:// www.woodstockschool.in/ways-to-give) or write to me at advancement@woodstock.ac.in or katiejowalter@woodstock.ac.in

HOW WE SUPPORT YOU: PUTTING THE KEYS IN YOUR HANDS

We creatively help identify and facilitate communications, collaborations, and activities – whether on the hillside or beyond, in person, or on line - that allow for continued social connection and professional networking as well as teaching and learning across and between our community’s various cultures, generations, and areas of experience and expertise. Initial networking connections can be established by writing to alumni@ woodstock.ac.in, as well as through our alumni portal AlumniConnect (see https:// woodstockalumniconnect.com/).

We also enthusiastically celebrate and support the endeavours and achievements of our community members, conscientiously stewarding their legacies and promoting their long-term interests. We hope to continue to do this via events such as our

Delhi Worldwide Woodstock Day, where around a dozen alumni and their companies and other endeavours were showcased as part of the program. On-campus events highlighting alumni are becoming more frequent and have been live-streamed for the community to enjoy. Alumni Connections Newsletter, our social media platforms, and Alumni Connect all serve as venues for our ongoing recognition and celebration of outstanding alumni.

My husband Bob Shoemaker has recently joined as a consultant working in the Woodstock School archives, and he manages several information requests each week as part of his work. We’re aiming to share a wonderful exhibition from the archives as part of our 175th celebrations that are only seven short years away.

Where We Need To Grow In Service To You And The School

We know that our Advancement Office has several areas in which it needs to continue growing if we are to serve you better and optimize the potential partnerships that can be realized between Woodstock School and its community of well-wishers. Our focus areas include 1) continuing to engage all alumni with each other and the life of the school in ways that are meaningful to them, 2) diversifying our venues for seeking external funding, 3) improving our communications and data, 4) improving our approaches to potential and current donor relationships, 5) strengthening our relationships with fundraising institutions that support Woodstock School, and 6) building a culture of involvement and philanthropy among current students and young alumni.

I have been working with the Woodstock School Advancement Committee headed by Woodstock School Board member Jonake Bose ’81 and made up of Woodstock School Board President and former Woodstock School Principal Hugh Bradby as well as Woodstock General Body Members Rajesh Kohli ’84, former staff Danny Lacy, and Deirdré Straughan ’81. This group has been providing their historic insights, expertise, and volunteer efforts in support of our goals to improve the quality and scope of our work serving the school and its community.

INTERESTS? QUESTIONS? CONCERNS?

It’s such an exciting time at Woodstock, where we’re building up our community and refreshing our sights that we always set exceedingly high. We always want more –from ourselves, from each other, and from this school - and we all have the heart and drive to make our visions into reality. The articles that follow this piece demonstrate some of the amazing things that can happen when we mobilize our unique skills, experiences, and resources in support of our community. I hope they’ll serve as an inspiration for you to reach out and share how you want to be involved. We welcome all of your ideas.

Get in touch with us to partner in the ways you care about as we move forward in our pursuit of lifelong education for a world of difference. Thank you to all of our partners and well-wishers everywhere who are helping us bring our Woodstock Distinctives to life so that they can shine brightly from the hillside across the world!