Foundation Blog

Christmas Greeting

Monday, 14 December 2009 12:56

From the desk of Garret G. Nieuwenhuis
Executive Director
Foundation for Eastern Christian School Association

"For unto us a child is born Unto us a Son is given" Isaiah 9:6

Dear Friends December 2009

Once again we have entered that special time of the year when all around us we see and hear the sounds of Christmas and we celebrate the Advent season in our churches and homes. What a blessing, that as a Christian School, we can join in these celebrations without restrictions from the authorities. On the other hand, what a shame that so many others, who may very well attend Christian churches and celebrate the birth of our Savior in their homes, attend schools where this celebration is forbidden.

As we approach the end of 2009, we are compelled to reflect on the many blessings that have been ours, and to give thanks to God for His faithfulness in once again providing for the needs of our school. After a difficult beginning this year, requiring significant sacrifices and restructuring of programs, we have been blessed beyond measure with supportive parents, dedicated teachers and administrators, and generous donors who have been led by God to support our school in remarkable ways.

Our fundraising initiatives, in spite of a slow economy and record levels of unemployment, have done remarkably well. Our largest event, The Annual Fund, continues to perform well in spite of the fact that we have fewer donors this year compared to previous years. Those who gave however gave out of their abundance and more than made up for those donors unable to support us this year. Our Business Drive continues to perform according to our goals with new donors added this year that formerly chose not to support us. Our fundraising events so far this year have also done very well. Although our annual Fashion Show produced fewer dollars than anticipated, we were bolstered by the invitation to join with the Christian Health Care Center in sponsoring the annual Harvestfest which more than made up for the loss of funds from the Fashion Show. Our recent Christmas Bazaar was very successful both from a retail sales point of view as well as for the opportunity to meet and greet so many of our parents and supporters who faithfully use this opportunity to do some of their holiday shopping. Today we are participating in our annual Barnes & Noble Bookfair with great expectations for a very successful event and an excellent opportunity to promote our school to the shoppers at this event.

All of these events and fundraising initiatives required a tremendous amount of coordination and commitment on the part of many people, both paid and volunteers who in many cases go above and beyond because it is for the benefit of ECSA. We are very appreciative of their dedication and support because without them, we would not have many of the programs and services that EC offers.

Soon we will be enjoying our Christmas break, when we will gather with family and friends to celebrate the birth of the greatest gift of all, our Savior, Jesus Christ. For some of us the Christmas season began by participating in singing Handel's Messiah with the Cathedral Choir. What a thrill to proclaim in song "For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given". What a gift! What a Savior! It was very significant that the offering taken at the concert was for the benefit of Christian education both at Eastern Christian and at other local Christian Schools.

Soon we hope to embark on a new year, filled with both concern and promise. We ask for God's continued leading in the lives of our supporters as we embark on the second half of the school year. Several significant events are planned to sustain the level of financial support required to provide a Christ centered education to our students. We pray that you will once again join us in meeting this challenge.

We wish you a Blessed Christmas and a New Year filled with peace.

Garry Nieuwenhuis
Exec. Dir. ECSA Foundation

Why Should We Support The ECSA Annual Fund?

Wednesday, 28 October 2009 07:38

From the desk of Garret G. Nieuwenhuis
Executive Director
Foundation for Eastern Christian School Association

This is a frequently asked question particularly by some who no longer have children or grandchildren attending our school. Some people really struggle with this issue and take the position that they did their part when their children were in school, so now it is up to those who still have children or grandchildren in Eastern Christian to do their part.

While to some there may appear to be some logic in that thought process it is inherently wrong from a number of view points. We are all a part of the larger Christian community which we believe has a responsibility for the nurture of the children in that community and have a vested interest in the outcome in the nurturing process. All of our “partners” such as the families of the students, the churches as well as the Christian School are included in this process.

Consider a Christian education as an investment, either for your own children and grandchildren or for those of your “neighbor” The return on this investment is not in dollars, but rather in the quality of our students and the leaders that we hope many of them will become in our churches, communities and professions. The academic and spiritual foundation that they receive at Eastern Christian School has the potential of multiplying your investment many times over as students take their talents and the biblical world in life view to others literally all over the world. We thank God for the opportunity to touch these young lives for Him!

The Eastern Christian School Annual Fund provides the immediate budgetary support we need to bridge the gap between the actual cost of education and the reasonable tuition that we must maintain in order to keep Christian education affordable and available for our current parents at Eastern Christian. In order for EC to operate within a balanced budget through August 31, 2010, we have determined that we have to set an Annual Fund goal of $ 650,000.00 for the current school year. The response so far to this year’s appeal has been very encouraging and we are trusting God that with His blessing on our efforts, we will meet our goal.

If you have not yet responded to this year’s appeal, we ask that you please pray for God’s leading as you contemplate what your response will be. If we all join together as members of the Christian school community and contribute as we are able, then we can be assured that we are supporting a school that glorifies God in its personnel, programs and facilities while at the same time nurturing succeeding generations of students to be the family, church, business and community leaders of tomorrow.

Modeling Financial Faithfulness

Thursday, 22 October 2009 09:16

From the desk of Garret G. Nieuwenhuis
Executive Director
Foundation for Eastern Christian School Association

Have you ever heard the saying, “We can teach what we believe, but we can only reproduce who we are”?

The most powerful tool we can use to teach our children is how we conduct our lives everyday. It is our responsibility to teach, talk and to model.

In his book “Prodigal Sons and Material Girls”, Nathan Dugan states “You are your child’s best hope for growing up resistant to the consumer culture. We, as parents, have great influence in shaping our kids’ values, priorities and habits. The sooner we realize that virtually every message our children hear about money promotes spending, the more prepared we will be to counter with a message on the value of saving and the joy of sharing.”

While we at Eastern Christian do not solicit our students to participate in our major fund raising initiatives, it is clearly our responsibility and our goal to help them understand financial principles which will help them manage their money but also to become good stewards and future members of Eastern Christian’s supporting community

How can we, as parents and grandparents meet this daunting challenge to model to our children an eternal perspective on life, money and possessions? One of the best ways for us to accomplish this is to show an attitude of thankfulness at all times. Getting our children involved in our giving activities and showing our children how they can save are very practical ways to “model” to our children and grandchildren. Letting our children know that giving isn’t always easy, and that giving sacrificially can be as satisfying as when we give out of our abundance is a life lesson that they will never forget.

The most important thing that we can do is to pass our faith in Christ to the next generation. As parents and grandparents we have a great responsibility to share the practical Biblical truths to our children. In many ways we are in a race against time. Unless our children learn and understand God’s financial principles of sharing, saving and spending, they will not be financially able, or have the motivation to support the Lord’s work in this world.

Our hope and prayer is that we as parents and grandparents will clearly model financial faithfulness to our future generations. May God bless us all in this formidable task!

(this message was adapted with permission from a Barnabas Foundation article “Modeling Financial Faithfulness”)

Foundation Update

Friday, 25 September 2009 11:59

From the desk of Garret G. Nieuwenhuis
Executive Director
Foundation for Eastern Christian School Association

Last week, E.C. Head of Schools Tom Dykhouse and I traveled to Chicago ( Tinley Park) to attend the 2009 Planned Giving Conference of the Barnabas Foundation. As you may know, Eastern Christian has been a long time member of the Barnabas Foundation and several EC Association members, including Tom and I, have served on the Board of the Barnabas Foundation over the past 20 years. The Barnabas Foundation benefits our families by sharing their expertise in Planned Giving and Estate Planning Services from a Christian perspective. Over the years many families affiliated with Eastern Christian have taken advantage of these free services and Eastern Christian in turn has benefited significantly from gifts left to the school as a result of the work of the Barnabas Foundation.

Since Planned Giving is a critical component of our fundraising efforts, we were anxious to participate and learn from the presenters at the conference as well as from our peers in other Christian Schools as to best methods to use in both Planned Giving and fundraising. From the dynamic keynote speaker to the various breakout sessions, we were constantly reminded that these are not normal times and we have to approach our donors in a focused and direct manner with appeals that specifically connect the donor to the organization by showing the donors the benefits derived from their giving. In other words, what has been accomplished with the funds received from the donors.

We at Eastern Christian pride ourselves in the fact that we are extremely efficient and prudent with the gifts that are directed to us. We have tightened our belts and have committed ourselves to be good stewards of the gifts that God has directed to us through you our donors. We are constantly amazed at the way our prayers have been answered and how that the Christian School community has responded to our needs. Currently we are receiving the initial commitments to the 2009-2010 Annual Fund appeal and we stand in awe of the blessings that are being showered on us by the faithful support of our donors! It is truly a confirmation that “our God reigns” and that He is in control of all aspects of our life.

We ask that those who have not yet responded to our appeals for the Annual Fund, the Harvestfest celebration and our annual Fashion Show consider how you may participate in one or all of these events. Your support, in whatever amount, will be sincerely appreciated. If you own a business, consider joining us for a free breakfast seminar on Tuesday, October 13th at the Brownstone where our carefully selected speakers will discuss ways that you can strengthen your business and how to protect and grow your business by using time tested methods of planning. We would love to see you there at 7:30 AM for a delicious breakfast and a valuable program.

Attending the Barnabas meetings really “charged our batteries” and we hope to share some of the more interesting ideas and suggestions with you over the next several months. In the meantime if you have a suggestion or idea on how we can raise some serious money for Eastern Christian or how you would be willing to help us raise these funds, please contact me and we will be happy to consider it.

In His service

Garret Nieuwenhuis
Executive Director & Director of Planned Giving
Foundation for Eastern Christian School
September 24,2009