Staff Development Fund renamed to honor Jane Cummings

Dear members of the extended Woodstock family,

JANE IS "MOVING ON."

Many of you will have received a recent message from Jane Cummings entitled "Moving On."  Writing from the Development Office looking out over the Tehri Hills, Jane reminded us that with the end of another school year at Woodstock "our senior students will graduate and move on to colleges and universities around the world."   

And then she wrote "I am graduating too. . . into retirement and will move on . . . my work here finished, my successor as Director of Development, Steve Alter, already on the job.  Any transition brings with it mixed emotions but  'To every thing there is a season. . .' and I will always cherish the 27 years that I have been associated with these two international schools in India and the wonderful friends I've made and colleagues I've worked with."

YES, THERE IS SOMETHING.

More than a few of you have written or called asking if there isn't something you could do to express the gratitude we all feel for Jane's devoted and steadfast service over those 27 years to Woodstock, WOSA, SAGE, KWI/FWS, and to us as individuals.  The answer is "Yes!"

At its board meeting early this month, Friends of Woodstock School (FWS) renamed its general staff development fund The Jane Cummings Staff Development Fund as a way of honoring Jane and the role she has played.

All three of our "Woodstock community" organizations, with the enthusiastic endorsement of Jane herself, thought it would be wonderful to share our sense that special contributions to this FWS fund would be a welcome and highly fitting tribute to Jane as she moves back to her home on Whidbey Island just north of Seattle.

THE JANE CUMMINGS STAFF DEVELOPMENT FUND.

The newly re-named Jane Cummings Fund consolidates donations designated for staff development or staff support at Woodstock School.  Responding to this critical need has been near and dear to Jane's heart over the years.  Contributions to the fund are available for direct use in emergency situations, but under the rubric of long-term financial responsibility, the fund is ordinarily treated as a de facto endowment, meaning that contributions to it are invested and its earnings used for requests from Woodstock that fall in the area of staff support.

The  balance in the fund right now is just under $295,000.  At an average return of 5% this means that it is producing $14,750 each year for staff development and support.  If we could double or triple the amount in the fund we could double or triple the amount that would go to Woodstock in ordinary years, and significantly increase the amount we'd have on hand, as a community, for extraordinary emergences, should they arise.

HELP US HONOR JANE.

So for those of you who have asked, and those who meant to, whether your association was with WOSA, Woodstock, or FWS, we invite you to consider a special tax-deductible contribution to the Jane Cummings Staff Development Fund as a way of expressing our thanks to Jane for all she has done, and as a way of ensuring her name is lodged securely in our "Woodstock Pantheon." Donations should be mailed to Friends of Woodstock School, Dept #719, PO Box 34935, Seattle, WA 98124-1935 USA.
 
WOSA/NA will integrate an additional invitation into its reunion in Toronto, and will offer its own statement at that time, but together we wanted to set the stage by sharing the language of the FWS resolution overleaf, and by making you aware of this opportunity to help ensure that Jane's legacy is never forgotten.

With Sincere Regards,

Steve Alter (Woodstock Class of '74) Director of Development, Woodstock School

Anne Lind (Woodstock Staff '68-'71 & '75-'80) President, WOSA/NA

Glenn Conrad (Woodstock Class of '68) President, Friends of Woodstock School