'Under the Big Top' Generosity Is Over the Top
The Rivers community set a new record for giving at Saturday’s Parents’ League Auction, grossing $370,750 at the annual event that raises funds for professional development and student technology, as well as a fund-a-need initiative to benefit the new Center for Community and Civic Engagement. Nearly 400 parents, faculty, and staff attended the Under the Big Top event, enthusiastically bidding on silent and live auction items that ranged from a luxury suite for 16 at a concert at Gillette, to a trip for two to Iceland, to a fishing charter with the Wicked Tuna crew.
The co-chairs of this year’s event were Amaris Peña-Ramos, Audra Lank, and Kathleen Katterhagen. They and their committee chairs coordinated more than 100 volunteers in the months leading up to Saturday’s event—gathering auction acquisitions, scheduling table volunteers, and overseeing the venue set-up. Klee Miller and Claudine Sheinkopf led the decorations committee, which set the stage in MacDowell for “the greatest show on earth.”
“I’d like to thank all of the parents who volunteered and made tonight’s auction such a success,” said Director of Parent Programs and Special Events Amy Dunne. “They spent countless hours working out every detail, and it certainly paid off. The real winners tonight are the students and faculty who will benefit from this tremendous show of generosity by the Rivers community.” Click here for a slide show of the auction.
The evening ended with a final appeal to bidders to provide funding for the new Center, which will be led by current History Department Chair Amy Enright. In a brief video, Ms. Enright requested funding for three Center initiatives: teleconferencing equipment, a speaker series, and student fellowships. In all, $157,850 was raised for the Center which, according to Ned Parsons, “will create an environment that develops a culture of engagement and fosters civic capacity and leadership in our students.” Click here to view the video.
“The Center will function as portal to the outside world on the Rivers campus,” explained Ms. Enright in the video. “Its teleconferencing capability will allow teachers to bring their classes to the Center in order to ‘engage’ with a professor or an off-site expert or students halfway around the world. The Center will also launch a new speaker series for our all-school assemblies so students can hear a variety of examples and viewpoints.
“Finally, one of the most important functions of the Center will be as a resource for students ready to make an impact in the world. The Center will develop a robust network of opportunities for internships, research programs, and conference participation. Center fellowships will help defray the costs of these opportunities and open them to all our students.”
If you are interested in supporting the Center initiatives, please click here.
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