Twenty-First Century Foundations: The 2023 Class Reunion Fund Drive
Dear Reunion Alumni and Friends,
During the past five years, Olney Friends School has moved steadily towards financial stability and begun addressing several deferred, structural maintenance concerns. With support from increasing tuition and scholarship funds, alumni giving has helped us replace the East Porch siding and Mary Davis porch floor, repave the Olney Lane, and restore foundations of the Main Building and Guindon (Boys) Dorm. The 47-year-old Guindon Dorm boiler and the crumbling retaining wall under the bicycle shed have recently been replaced. Funding is approved for the summer construction-season projects of renovating the Guindon Dorm’s second-floor bathroom, replacing floors in the Main Building’s kitchen and storage rooms, and installing energy-efficient windows in the Towe Ranch faculty house.
We are grateful to have arrived at a place where we can invite your participation in bringing even more of Olney into the twenty-first century. Here’s where your class can help:
Information Technology needs — $13,500
• Four iMacs for the library
• 20 Chromebooks for student use
• Apple Mini for film editing
• Tools for recording phone and aerial videos
• New cable modem
Our donated fleet of Chromebooks is ten years old, and desktop computers in the Library are older still. Although Filmmaking is a perennially popular elective course, the computer used for editing is so slow as to be non-functional. More and more educational and information resources must be accessed online by students, teachers, and school administrators alike. Updated devices are as necessary as a robust, reliable network, in order to prepare students to succeed in colleges and universities today.
Kitchen upgrades — $15,000
• New gas ranges
• Stainless steel surfaces and containers
• Baking storage and shelving
• Bread slicer
Installed in 1978, Olney’s line of gas ranges is fifty years old and has trouble achieving oven temperature settings. The manufacturer no longer sells replacement parts. New ranges and accessories will improve the kitchen’s ability to provide nutritious, farm-to-table meals in a timely manner.
Whittier House foundation — $25,000
• Maintain foundation by reinforcing, waterproofing, and improving drainage.
• Remedy problems caused by excess moisture.
Built in 1958, this faculty residence has housed many faculty members and their families. The recruitment of qualified faculty is facilitated when campus housing is comfortable and clean, but moisture from basement condensation and flooding has caused increasing problems. This home needs insulation and a drainage-and-pump system in the basement, redirection of storm water from the roof and the hill above, and replacement of baseboard heaters with heat pumps to efficiently improve air quality.
While these are significant amounts of money, we have had great results in recent years by inviting reunion classes to fund specific projects. In 2021, reunion alumni and friends raised over $100,000 to repave the Olney lane. Last year’s reunion class gifts totaled around $75,000, making it possible to restore and waterproof the foundations of the Main Building and Guindon (Boys) Dorm. This year, we invite alumni to contribute to this critical effort to modernize our information technology infrastructure, kitchen, and faculty housing.
As we look forward to helping you plan your gatherings and reconnect with one another, we ask that you consider a generous class gift. What better way to honor the joy of reuniting, and the many ways Olney has impacted your life, than to “pay it forward” for the sake of future Olney students?
Please accept our heartfelt gratitude for your love of Olney and support of our shared mission.
On behalf of the school’s board of trustees, students, and faculty,
Christian Acemah
Head of School
For fundraising questions, contact the Development Office:
Anne Marie Taber ’79, Development & Library Director
annemarie@www.olneyfriends.org or 740-425-3655 x210
Shea Bugala (Hon.), Assistant to Development & Student Life
shea@www.olneyfriends.org or 740-425-3655 x253
For reunion reservations, contact the Main Office:
Vicki Lowry (Hon.), Dean of Students & Events Coordinator
vicki@www.olneyfriends.org or 740-425-3655 x203
