REACH
Source/Author: Michael Gillis, Director of Advancement
April 20, 2018
Reach is an interesting word.
Reach in… Reach out… It is a dynamic function and promises something higher, something hoped for, something just out of reach, but within our grasp.
Just ask an elephant or a giraffe about the importance of reach for their very survival and the survival of their young. What did they do when they could not find food close to the ground? They have adapted. They literally stretched and transformed themselves to make way for a better world. They are bio-genetically engineered to reach... and so, it turns out, are we! There is always a tree with a higher branch; better fruits to nourish our lives. But it is our innate cherish and protect instinct for those we care about that drives us to reach for the highest branch.
Take a moment… Can you remember a time in your your life when you made a choice to reach out that made a pivotal difference? I have, and as a result my kids are thriving at Shorecrest. Our busy lives are often bookended by a need to push away from something that no longer suits us or something that prevents us from growing. But for me, REACH is about an ever-expanding purpose to fully foster and support the education of children: my children, your children - our children! After all, we all are sitting under the shade of a Shorecrest tree that we did not plant. Our tree that has been growing for nearly one hundred years, and this is our time… our time together… our time to REACH.
What then, is the highest branch of that Shorecrest tree that nourishes and shades our Alphas? Or how do we care for a tree that shares its fruits with our graduates by providing them with a world-class academic and service learning education? And how do we ensure that the future we have envisioned for our children aligns with our natural instinct to reach toward something higher; something hoped for just within our grasp?
Reach. Rise. Grow. These are the three phases of the Transform Campaign to build our new Community and Innovation Center with our first-ever Dinning Hall and a new Experiential School for the youngest in our community... and much more.
With the successful launch of Transform on March 2, we have seen an enormous amount of momentum of families sharing their interest by watching videos on TransformShorecrest.org. Seeing all those happy faces during the community event when the students learned what Transform will mean for them was priceless. Hearing the cheers when they learned about the new Dining Hall was a meaningful moment of reflection for our first hundred donor families. It emboldens our charge that Transform is not only what our students, teachers and community need, but moreover it is what they really want!
Shorecrest alone can’t afford Transform, but the Shorecrest Community can! It will take all of us. We need elephants and giraffes, lions, tigers and bears. We need to REACH IN, REACH OUT and surely REACH TOGETHER to make our groundbreaking in late May possible!
We may all sit under the shade of the Shorecrest tree that we did not plant, but, it is our tree to tend. It is our children who will thrive as we Transform. Are you ready to REACH?
