Why We Give

It is truly remarkable for individuals to show such exceptional commitment to their School with a gift like the one given by Victoria Beth Mars 1974, Pamela Wright Mars 1978, Bernadette Schuetz Russell 2003, and Charlotte Audrey Rossetter 2012, but then Foxcroft is made of remarkable women! We recently spoke with these four women about what inspired their extraordinary gift. Below are highlights from that conversation.

WHAT DO YOU LOVE ABOUT FOXCROFT?

Victoria: I love that the friendships I created at Foxcroft 50-plus years ago have endured — those deep friendships that were developed because we were thrown together and lived together and grew up together — and that my two best friends come from Foxcroft.

Charlotte: I would agree with that. I think it's also the connections that you make. There are people I didn't know while I was at Foxcroft, but because we share that experience, there's a bond from the get-go.

Bernadette: The campus itself and the people, the environment, the feeling you have when you're on campus, it's such a unique experience that I loved when I was there and continue to love.

Pamela: I also love that it takes young girls and teaches them to have a voice and to be confident that their voice is worth being heard. I love that it's an all-girls school, and we're dedicated to that.

Victoria: I look at myself and know that what Pamela said about voice and building your confidence shows up in many different ways throughout life, and when you look back, your reflection is always, ‘Yeah, and I know where that started.’ It started at Foxcroft. Foxcroft gave me those tools and began to teach me about finding my voice and having confidence.

WHY IS SINGLE-SEX EDUCATION SO IMPORTANT FOR GIRLS?

Charlotte: I think it instills the confidence to be smart and not have to try and hide that. There's an acceptance and encouragement to explore what interests encouragement to what interests you and makes you want to study more.

Victoria: I think all the research about single-sex, all-women education comes alive at Foxcroft. All of you [at the School] put a lot of energy into talking about and differentiating how girls learn best and what is the right environment to help girls learn and thrive. I think there is so much value in enabling girls to learn in the fashion that works for them.

WHY GIVE TO FOXCROFT, AND WHY NOW?

Bernadette: I feel like it says more when a group of people give together. All four of us feel strongly about the School and our experiences, and the need to give back.

Pamela: We were all raised with the understanding that you give back. I believe in the value of single-sex high school education, especially for girls. I think that Foxcroft is just a magical place and that you put your money where your mouth is, and I think that it would be a shame if the school wasn't able to compete at the level that it can and should because we didn't do the things that we can do to help make that happen. And truthfully, Bernadette and Charlotte's enthusiasm for joining was very motivating.

Victoria: The other part is we heard for so many years that all the boys schools had these huge endowments. I remember sitting in board meetings where even women gave to [boys] schools because men decided where the money was going. So even though we had all these women who could have given to Foxcroft over the years, that didn't happen, because culturally, that's not how things were done. This is an opportunity to say women have a choice and can give to places they believe in and help drive the message that we can decide for ourselves. We need to be investing in women the same way men have invested in themselves for years. So why wait until I'm dead to support something I believe in? Why not now?