Impacting the lives of our boys

2022 will be a memorable year for a number of reasons - the return to normal School life, the celebration of our 140th year and witnessing the impact our growing culture of philanthropy is now making at BGS.

Through the collective support of our parents, past parents, Old Boys, staff and friends, more than $ 4.4M was raised and pledged during the year. I give my sincere thanks to all in our generous community who supported our philanthropic priorities during the year. Your generosity enables us to build upon the principles on which BGS was founded.

A highlight of the year was the School’s Annual Giving Day Appeal on 24 May, with the focus shifting this year from raising funds for scholarships to raising funds for our new Food and Technology Centre, named The Grill’d Kitchen. With the support of our matchers every donation received on our Giving Day was doubled. In just 24 hours, 395 donors contributed more than $283,617 to assist the School in equipping this impressive facility. I was fortunate to view the first group of boys diving into a food related activity in The Grill’d Kitchen. The feedback received from the boys indicates that Food Technology will become a popular addition to the wide array of opportunities we already offer our boys. Thank you to our Annual Appeal donors for partnering with us to bring this facility to life.

Another highlight of the year was the launch of our Beyond Tomorrow Capital Campaign supporting the most ambitious building project in the School’s history - our Centre for Science, Creativity and Entrepreneurship. In the quiet phase of the campaign, our generous community has already donated over $7M which is truly humbling - however there is still a way to go! During the construction phase, we will continue to seek support for this most exciting and significant development. Please know that it is only through the support of our community that vital projects such as this can come to life in the timeframes originally envisaged.

Speaking of scholarships, we now have 16 means tested scholarships at BGS. Only a few years ago we had none. For me, this speaks volumes about our School and, combined with the generous support of our community, we have provided these boys with life-changing experiences. Quite simply, without this support these 16 boys would not benefit from a BGS education.

Philanthropy plays an increasingly vital role in our society, and I believe it is essential that we also inspire the next generation of philanthropists by encouraging our boys to engage with and support communities in need. Under the stellar direction of BGS Director of Service Anna Ladas, our students are indeed receiving opportunities to support a number of worthy causes very close to our hearts. I think particularly of the Robert Connor Dawes Foundation, the Ute Full of Food and Winter Sleep Out. The desire to assist your fellow human beings is an important disposition making Anna’s care of our service program crucial.

In closing, a sincere thanks again for supporting the education of our current and future students by making BGS a philanthropic priority. Our school motto translates to ‘let us pursue better things’ and with the generous support of our community we are able to do just that.

Meliora Sequamur.

John Phillips Director of Advancement

Did you know

Our Giving Day in 2023 will be 23 May