EMERGENCY FUND HELPS FAMILIES IMPACTED BY COVID-19
By Geneviève Delaquis, CFRE, Philanthropy
In Spring 2020, we were overwhelmed by the number of people within our tight-knit school community who asked how they could help.
Balmoral Hall School moved quickly to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. To keep our community safe, spring break began early, on-campus activities were postponed, and boarding students returned home to be with their families. Our priority was to ensure a smooth transition to remote learning for our Kindergarten to Grade 12 students and to support them during uncertain times.
We acknowledged that many families were facing new financial hardships and wanted to ensure all students could return to school in September. Although our financial aid program ordinarily supports one in six students, we expected this need to increase.
Thankfully, a generous family offered to match all donations made to a new emergency relief fund up to $50,000. With the support of 57 donors, the matching challenge was fulfilled between May and July 2020, and 16 students have returned to school in September who would have otherwise withdrawn.
Time after time, the BH family comes together in support of initiatives that matter to us all.