Woodstock Comes Together in Support of Its Employees

motorbike tour to raise awareness about and generate donations for the Employees' Children's Education Fund (see https://bit. ly/Kentonbikefundraiser for more details on supporting this fundraiser).

These efforts and more are supported by the Woodstock Employees' Charitable Funds Advocacy Team. The team includes current students Jayant, Dyumna, and Rehaan ’23, Katie Jo Walter, Finance Director Shailesh Garg, and Senior Account Office Assistant and Mailroom Employee Vinod Kumar.

Recently the students answered a few questions about what drives their involvement:

“What motivated you to get involved with fundraising towards charitable funds benefitting Woodstock Employees?

The Employees of Woodstock are the backbone of our hillside community. Their commitment and service to Woodstock often go unnoticed. Some of our Employees have served Woodstock for decades, and some families have for generations. By helping this fund, we aim to empower the families of our Employees and instill a feeling of being valued. Furthermore, we hope this fund promotes our guiding principle of compassion and leads to achieving holistic excellence within Woodstock and its larger community.

Employees are those providing vital support to our entire community in roles including but not limited to security, office assistance, kitchen work, cleaning, and building maintenance. Woodstock School currently has three funds dedicated to assisting its Employees with educational and medical expenses that exceed their Woodstock wage and benefits packages: the Employees' Children's Education Fund supporting K-12 education expenses exceeding the Woodstock-allotted stipend; the Luminescence Fund assisting high-need, high-achieving employee children with their higher studies; and the Employees' Benevolent Fund providing for medical costs exceeding Woodstock School provided insurance benefits.

All three of these funds are currently in need of additional support. Woodstock needs your help to continue offering this additional assistance to the families of Woodstock's valued Employees. Woodstock campus stakeholders have been joining forces to shore up the financial resources needed to maintain our legacy of providing assistance and opportunity to Woodstock Employees. Our initial efforts are focused on seeking support for the Employees' Children's Education Fund, which needs replenishment to be sustainable. You can learn more about this fund and how to give at: https://bit.ly/childreneducationfund.

Those recently involved include alumni, especially from the classes of 1970 and 1973, who made this funding a giving priority in 2019 as well as the class of 1972 who this year gave towards Employees’ children’s education as part of their 50th reunion celebrations. Woodstock School administration is also getting involved, donating and coming up with creative ways to draw attention to and garner support, such as Kenton Beachy ’78’s purposing of his 4,600 km 2022 Winter Break

“What are you hoping to accomplish in your fundraising campaign over the next few months before graduation?

An endowment for the Employees’ Children’s Education Fund is one sustainable way to prevent funds from needing constant replenishment. While we look to establish the endowment with at least INR 26 lakh or USD 31,600 this year, to attain true sustainability we’ll need the endowment to be built up to approximately INR 2.5 crore or USD 305,000. This amount would generate INR 20 lakhs annually (based on 8% interest from savings). Based on previous years, these 20 lakhs would sufficiently meet our average annual distribution while considering inflation and fee increases. Consequently Woodstock will be able to go beyond the next few years of funding provided by the class of 1970 and support the education of 22-25 Employees’ children each year going forward.

In addition to fundraising for all charitable funds supporting Employees, we’re focusing on establishing a greater awareness of these funds through focused, creative outreach that includes hearing from Employees who’ve benefitted. We hope to shed some light on all of the Employees’ Charitable Support Funds through smaller campaigns and conversations with the larger Woodstock community with a special focus on current parents and alums.

“You raised over two lakhs (approximately USD 2,600) from the student body to support the Employees’ Children’s Education Fund during Goal-a-Thon this year. Can you explain how those charity funds are pledged? And what contributed to your success in raising this amount?

Goal-a-Thon is Woodstock’s annual indoor football charity tournament. The tournament takes place on a long weekend, and this year's edition consisted of upwards of 26 teams. The teams must collect a minimum amount in sponsorships from staff and students to participate and are encouraged to exceed the minimum amount. Before the event the funds are either pledged to a chosen charity in coordination with the Community Engagement Department or to a fund within the school. Considering the diminishing numbers of the Employees’ Children’s Education Fund, this year’s Student Council found it crucial to pledge all the money raised to this fund.

Once in-person classes started on campus, the role of Employees at Woodstock became more prevalent. Student-employee relationships developed as the student body finally gained the opportunity to interact with the Employees and experience first-hand their significant contributions to our community. When we pledge funds to charities off campus, sponsors usually don’t know the people we’re supporting, and they don’t get to witness the impact of their contributions. When this year’s Goal-a-Thon funds were pledged to the Employees’ Children’s Education Fund, students and staff felt more comfortable sponsoring teams, as they had a connection with the people they were helping and understood the need for it. Moreover, they would be allowed to witness the impact of their contributions directly.

“Who are some of your favourite Employees on campus with whom you interact? What’s the best part of knowing some of these people and having them at Woodstock?

We don’t have specific favourite Employees at Woodstock, as all of them are the most humble and selfless people we’ve ever met. They proactively support the community, work hard to maintain the Woodstock spirit, and provide the comfort we seek. They never complain about their jobs and are always willing to help. The Employees routinely do the right thing; their work is always thoroughly done. The best part about knowing Employees is that there is much to learn from them. Selflessness and a high work ethic are qualities students can hone by observing and interacting with Employees. Employees have become an integral part of our community. They understand the values of our institution, they know the Woodstock of the past, and they play an important role in preserving our traditions and heritage. Having them at Woodstock adds to our family atmosphere and enables us to be more effective as an institution.

“What message do you have for alumni and other supporters about why they should support charitable funds established to support Woodstock School Employees?

The Employees have been there for you and us, and they’ll be there for Woodstock in the future. They’ve always offered assistance and have never backed down from a challenge. They always have smiles on their faces no matter the hardships faced. It’s only right that we honour their legacy and empower them by giving back through the funds established to support Woodstock School Employees.

“What, beyond giving money, can people do to support

your efforts?

In addition to donating, people can support our efforts by helping us create greater awareness of the funds supporting our Employees. Woodstock has a vast alumni and parent network. People can help us utilize these networks effectively by informing their friends and family of the importance of giving back to the Employees and their families through the funds established at Woodstock to help and empower them.

4,600 km (2,860 miles) | 130 sponsors @ INR 1 or USD .012 per kilometre

Equals approx. INR 600,000 or USD 7,250

Equals one year of additional school funding for 20 Woodstock Employee Children.

Let’s do this! https://bit.ly/Kentonbikefundraiser