Great is Thy Faithfulness!

Wednesday, 23 June 2010 08:14

As we look back on the school year just ended, we are truly humbled by the way God provided for Eastern Christian in so many ways.

As you may remember, we started the year with a degree of uncertainty regarding enrollment and finances which required us all to tighten our belts and to work harder. As we progressed through a year still bearing the effects of a sluggish economy, we were reminded time and time again that God is still in control, that He had a plan to sustain our school in spite of the economy and other adverse situations.

During the year we were blessed with an excellent response to our Annual Fund appeal as well as strong support for the various fundraising events that were sponsored throughout the year, including several new events such as Harvestfest, a scholarship dinner and a beefsteak dinner in support of the athletic programs of the school.

In addition to carefully controlling expenses, we are also taking advantage of the opportunity to consider several alternative means of developing revenue for our school. In April we signed a lease for an 11,000 square foot building in North Haledon to house our new resale store to be known as ditto. We plan to be open for business in August and anticipate that this venture will contribute to the bottom line before the new school year is over. We are also very excited about the planned installation of solar panels on the roofs of all three of our buildings during the late summer. Once installed and operating, we hope to significantly reduce our electric bills as well as to take advantage of other potential benefits that will help us reduce the cost of installation. These two initiatives have the potential of adding approximately $300,000 in new revenue for our school each year.

The result of all this activity is that we are looking at the real possibility of ending the current school year with a balanced budget and a solid financial framework to begin the 2010-2011 school year. To God be the glory for the things He has done! With gratitude to God for providing so abundantly in the past, we are once again planning an annual fund appeal to raise scholarship funds for the new school year. For this new year, the challenge will be to raise $675,000.00, which will provide much needed tuition assistance to families continuing to be affected by the difficult economy. When you receive your appeal letter, either enclosed in The Herald or via the mail, we hope and pray that we may be able to count on you once again for your generous support so that we may ensure that Eastern Christian can continue to meet the challenge of preparing our students to be people of Christian vision and influence in this 21st century.

Thank you for all your support and prayers throughout this past year. We hope that you have a wonderful summer of rest and relaxation.