r e p o r t o f g i f t s | 2013-2014
STRATEGIC VISION
GOAL 6
FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY
We will support the innovations of our strategic plan and the school’s mission of socioeconomic diversity.
Focused on Mission, Committed to Diversity VISION Educating students to live lives that make a difference.
MISSION Quaker principles and practice continue to guide William Penn Charter School, a Friends school founded in 1689. Within a school community that honors difference, we seek that of God in each person. We value scholarship and inquiry. With excellence as our standard, we challenge students in a vigorous program of academics, arts and athletics. Through global connections, civic engagement and a focus on environmental sustainability, we inspire students to be thinkers, collaborators, innovators and leaders. We educate students to live lives that make a difference.
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When Claudia and Richard Balderston consider Penn Charter’s future, they do so with the love of a mother, the respect of a son, and the determination of a couple intent upon making a difference. The Balderstons have made a $1 million gift that is designed so that investment earnings from the gift will support the tuition of one student at a time, beginning in Lower School and continuing through to Commencement. “As parents of two OPC ‘lifers’ who are now well into adulthood, we are more compelled than ever by the unique foundation that Penn Charter created for our children,” Claudia said. “We are very excited to enable a child who, due solely to economic restraints, would otherwise be denied that opportunity.” Claudia Balderston and Richard A. Balderston OPC ’69
2013-14 Annual Report of Gifts
After Penn Charter, Philip Balderston OPC ’02 completed a bachelor’s in economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He lives in Philadelphia and is a founder of Odin Properties, which acquires and manages multifamily, office and retail properties in Greater Philadelphia. Jessica Balderston OPC ’05 graduated from Yale University with a bachelor’s in molecular biophysics. This spring she received an MD degree from Penn, published an abstract in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology on coronary artery aneurysms, and accepted an internship in emergency medicine at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond. “One of the reasons that our kids have been successful is because they don’t think of themselves as better,” their mother said. “They think of themselves as luckier, which is what they are.” Claudia Balderston, a dentist who established a private practice near Rittenhouse Square, plans to provide not only financial support but an ongoing mentorship to the student the Balderston gift supports. “We understand the world and how to get a kid from place A to place B,” she said. In the next few months, Claudia will work with Head of School Darryl J. Ford to put that aspect of the gift in place. She and Ford previously worked together on the board of the Children’s Literacy Initiative, a Philadelphia nonprofit focused on training teachers to help their students become powerful readers and writers. “For my entire time at Penn Charter,” Ford said, “Claudia and Rich Balderston have been a staple. I first met them as parents and an Overseer and today know them as steadfast supporters of the school and its mission to educate all students.”
Richard Balderston’s history with Penn Charter stretches back decades –
indeed centuries – and includes not only his children but his brother, uncles, cousins and even a great-grandfather. His father, Robert L. Balderston, did not attend Penn Charter but he served as an Overseer from 1963 until 1982. The governing body of the school then was without a Balderston, but only for a short time: Rich Balderston was named to the Overseers in 1986. Rich first came to Penn Charter in seventh grade. He was a scholarship student, a fact he mentions to explain, in part, his gift. The Balderstons are, as Ford described, steadfast supporters of Penn Charter, giving to the Annual Fund each year and, in the previous capital campaign, supporting the construction of the Middle School, including the tiered assembly room known as Balderston Commons.
2013-14 Annual Report of Gifts
Of the most recent gift, Rich said, “This is the only cause that I am supporting at this level. The mission of the school as it relates to economic diversity is really important to me.” To this OPC, diversity is “at the heart” of the school’s mission. “Our message is that economic diversity makes Penn Charter stronger – it makes us all stronger,” said Rich, pointing out that Penn Charter has always been one of the most diverse private schools in the region. “Students need to understand that there are different points of view, different ways of looking at life. And they need to know that, as a society, we’re all in this together.” PC
Sincerely, The Lord Lloyd Webber With a network of OPCs around the globe, it is not unusual for Penn Charter to receive international mail. However, truth to tell, the letter bearing the seal of England’s House of Lords did cause some excitement. Inside was a check for $2,000 and a note from Lord Lloyd Webber of Sydmonton, a Conservative member of England’s House of Lords – although better known as Andrew Lloyd Webber, the composer and musical theater genius responsible for Evita, Cats, The Phantom of the Opera, and much more. Lloyd Webber made the donation in recognition of Richard Balderston OPC ’69, who treated Lloyd Webber and relieved back pain that had plagued him. An orthopedic surgeon, Balderston is a partner in the Aria 3B Orthopaedic Institute, with offices in Center City, Bucks County and South Jersey. He is a national leader in spine research and treatment. A pioneer in the treatment of degenerative disc disease, his research helped lead to the development of total disc replacement, one of the most advanced treatments available for this disease. Lloyd Webber asked that his gift be used to help support the performing arts at Penn Charter.
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STRATEGIC VISION
GOAL 6
FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY
A WIN-WIN FOR BUSINESS AND PENN CHARTER
Turning Tax Dollars Into PC Support DOES YOUR COMPANY OR EMPLOYER OPERATE IN PENNSYLVANIA AND PAY… • Corporate Net Income Tax • Capital Stock Franchise Tax •B ank and Trust Company Shares Tax • Title Insurance Companies Shares Tax • Insurance Premiums Tax • Mutual Thrift Institution Tax • Personal Income Tax?
Brad Barone, his wife, Jenny, and their daughter, Sofia, were new to Penn Charter last year. Sofia, a pre-K student, was in school for the first time. The Barones worried a bit about the transition. “It was a big adjustment,” Brad Barone said. But within that year, Sofia emerged with confidence and new friends. “We watched her grow so much during the year.” Barone is market manager and a vice president at Susquehanna Bank. “Donating to nonprofits is a large part of our culture here at Susquehanna Bank,” he said. “Giving to youth and
education and EITC helps to impact the area where we live and work. It’s what Susquehanna Bank believes in.” EITC, Pennsylvania’s Educational Improvement Tax Credit program,
If so, the business may be eligible to participate in two state tax-credit programs that make it possible for businesses to redirect their tax dollars to Penn Charter for financial aid. The application process is easy, and the benefits to the school and to deserving students are significant.
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2013-14 Annual Report of Gifts
WHAT ARE EITC AND OSTC?
enables a Pennsylvania business to direct state tax dollars to Penn Charter’s scholarship program. Participating businesses earn a 75 percent tax credit on a one-year gift and a 90 percent credit for a twoyear gift. Susquehanna Bank, which in 2013 donated more than $1 million to schools in Pennsylvania to support both scholarships as well as innovative educational programs in public schools, had never before made an EITC gift to Penn Charter. Barone contacted PC’s development office to see if the school was an eligible entity. And it is. Said Barone: “I think [Penn Charter does] a wonderful job, especially
the pre-K.” And EITC has a pre-K scholarship program that allows a 100 percent tax credit of the first $10,000 contributed.
Barone was sold on the idea.
“Because of how we were welcomed to the school by everyone from administration to the rest of the families, and the way Penn Charter made us feel, it encouraged me to help steer funds toward PC.”
Enacted by the Pennsylvania legislature in 2001, the Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) provides a tax credit to businesses that pay Pennsylvania’s corporate income tax for contributions to scholarship organizations that give private-school scholarships to eligible children. In August 2012, Pennsylvania created a second program – the Opportunity School Tax Credit (OSTC) – to offer further support for students whose neighborhood public school is low-achieving. The EITC and OSTC programs enable a Pennsylvania business to direct up to $750,000 of its Pennsylvania state tax dollars directly to Penn Charter’s scholarship program. Tax credits are given for 75 percent of a oneyear gift and 90 percent of gifts given in two consecutive years.
The support of the EITC program is critical to helping Penn Charter achieve our mission of socioeconomic diversity. For more information on the EITC program, contact Phil Consuegra, associate director of development, at 215-844-3460 ext. 172 or pconsuegra@penncharter.com.
2013-14 Annual Report of Gifts
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STRATEGIC VISION
GOAL 1
QUAKERISM
We will create a Center for Public Purpose, a place where our students and the wider community can advance issues of equity, social justice and peace.
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GOOD WORKS, GOOD DEEDS The Center for Public Purpose, founded in 2013, expands Penn Charter’s work to advance issues of social responsibility and justice. It serves as a place for incubating ideas, connecting communities, sharing dialogue, and initiating and performing good works. The center’s mission to help our community members make a difference has recently benefited from a handful of generous gifts, two of which are highlighted here.
A Life of Adventure and Impact Meg Van Sciver OPC ’92 had a love of adventure and an instinct for helping others. Her life would consist of combining the two. Shortly after college, she joined the Peace Corps, teaching math and physics in Tanzania and building a library – which included first making cinderblocks from sand – with her students. She enlisted her parents to collect second-hand books and computers for the library, created an electronic card catalog, learned fluent Swahili from the villagers and traveled through the spiny forests of Madagascar. “She came home,” her mother, Carol Van Sciver, said, “and I thought, ‘Well, I’m glad this is over.’”
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Meg moved to Denver, earned her master’s degree and joined the nonprofit Engineers Without Borders. Back to Africa. As a senior project manager, she built water systems in Rwanda and climbed into the mountains to see the famed “gorillas in the mist.” She told her mother, “As long as you stay low and look meek and mild, they like you and they leave you alone.” Back home, she loved the Rocky Mountains. She was an avid mountain skier, hiker and camper. One friend called her Indiana Meg. An adventurer but never a daredevil, Meg literally wrote the book on safety for the Rocky Mountain Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association. So her death in a paragliding accident in May 2013 was a shock.
Meg Van Sciver hiked through the mountains of Rwanda to see gorillas during her work with Engineers Without Borders to install water systems in the town of Muramba.
“She did so much more in 39 years than a lot of people do, myself included, in a whole lifetime,” her mother said. Just before the accident, Meg told her parents she was looking forward to returning to Africa to help girls go to college; she had just won a new position with Africa Aid, a nonprofit that works to alleviate poverty. If her parents had any reservations about her travels to developing countries, they kept them at bay. “You are really helping a lot of people in the world,” her mother told her more than once, “and I can’t stand in the way.” In memory of their daughter, Carol and Joseph B. Van Sciver III OPC ’52 made a $10,000 gift to Penn Charter, divided evenly between the Alice Davis Scholarship Fund and the Center for Public Purpose. “Alice Davis gave her a wonderful background to start her out,” Carol said. Davis made chemistry interesting to Meg and to her brother, Jay Van Sciver
2013-14 Annual Report of Gifts
– a journey that began with PC’s service learning program. “Her service in the school gave her empathy for people who didn’t have a lot,” her mother said. “… It was contagious. She could have made a lot of money as an engineer. She didn’t want to be an executive. She wanted to run a nonprofit.
Meg Van Sciver, a member of Amnesty International, a volunteer for Habitat for Humanity and, shown here, a member of the Peace Corps, was joined by friend Andy Bott OPC ’92, with her students, the Class of 1999, in Tanzania.
OPC ’96, who majored in chemistry at Yale University. Their parents believe the skills Davis taught them stayed with them for years. They hope the scholarship fund will encourage and support students who may not otherwise be able to take advantage of Penn Charter’s science program. The Van Scivers made their gift to the Center for Public Purpose because Meg dedicated her life to helping others
“What she did in her lifetime was a lot of hard work. … She gave her whole life away to other people. I’m happy that she did what she did.”
Gratitude for a Helping Hand Jay Ying, a student at Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire, suffered a traumatic brain injury from a fall he sustained in 2012 while enrolled in a summer program at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Jay, who lived in Hong Kong before attending Phillips Exeter, spent more than a year in a Philadelphia hospital and rehab center, endured numerous surgeries
and setbacks, and had to re-learn how to walk, talk and function. His therapy continued at home with his parents, John and Lisa Ying, who relocated to Philadelphia to be with their son. Realizing that he had missed his senior year at school, Jay was determined to return to Exeter to finish high school and eventually go on to college – the original plan. But his parents knew he would need a transition. John and Lisa Ying learned about Penn Charter from the Rev. Sean Mullen, rector of St. Mark’s Church in Philadelphia. Together with Beth Johnson, director of Middle and Upper School admissions, Travis Larrabee, director of Upper School, Head of School Darryl J. Ford, and Debra Foley, coordinator of health services, they came up with a plan to help Jay make the transition back to a school setting. The goals were both peer interaction and cognitive stimulation. In January and February, Jay joined Randy Granger’s Design Science course. Granger spent the one-on-one time with Jay that he needed, and Penn Charter students welcomed him. “It was as much about establishing a social connection with kids his own age” as about academics, Larrabee said. Jay worked hard toward his goal and did return to Phillips Exeter. Always a strong student, he needed just three credits to earn his diploma, and he graduated in June.
Graduates of the Class of 1952, the close-knit class of Joseph B. Van Sciver III OPC ’52, donated a bench in memory of Meg Van Sciver OPC ’92. The bench overlooks PC sports fields where Meg both played and supported her friends. Pictured at the dedication: Skip Corson OPC ’52, Beth Glascott Hon. 1689, Head of School Darryl J. Ford and Bruce Waechter OPC ’52, with Joe and Carol Van Sciver. Also instrumental in the gift were Carol and John Wagner, Mike Ritter and Arthur Ayers.
2013-14 Annual Report of Gifts
Although Penn Charter had offered to open its doors to Jay without expecting financial compensation, Jay’s parents, grateful for the opportunity and support their son received from Penn Charter, surprised the school with a gift of $20,000 to the Center for Public Purpose, supporting Penn Charter’s distinguished heritage of service. PC
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STRATEGIC VISION
GOAL 2
CONTENT
Collaborate locally, nationally and internationally to expand learning and leadership opportunities, connecting students with the world.
An Internship in Real-World Science David R. Hassman OPC ’83 recalls a time when getting into the college of your choice was all about grades and SAT scores. Today, while both those quantitative factors are still important, many colleges are looking for the student who has expanded his or her experience beyond the classroom. Hassman, a physician, has drawn on his own expertise and professional network to create a real-world experience – a paid internship in a research laboratory that will span both one summer and part of the school year and will engage the Penn Charter intern in the world of science.
“I am grateful to Penn Charter, and I thought this was a way to give back and to keep the family legacy in the school,” Hassman said. He has established the Hassman Family Fund for Science Research Innovation to support the internship program, including a stipend to the intern.
“The kids are here, and they’re brilliant. If they can be exposed to science at an earlier age it will enhance their thinking and their growth,” Hassman said. He even has hopes that the interns could become authors of a medical abstract. “If their research could be published with their name as co-author of the article, how phenomenal would that be?”
Hassman envisioned the intern would be involved in clinical research, a world he understands well. With his father and brother, he heads Advocare Berlin Medical Associates, a family medicine practice with four offices in South Jersey. Hassman spends
The internship project reflects Hassman’s commitment to Penn Charter as well as to science. He holds many fond memories of his school years and an abiding deep respect for his favorite teacher, retired PC science star Alice Davis. The Hassmans enrolled their own children at Penn Charter. Son Corey OPC ’14 is in his freshman year at Indiana University in Bloomington, Ind., and daughter Brooke is a PC junior.
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trials for pharmaceutical companies. The research relates to medical therapeutic areas such as diabetes, cardiovascular health, asthma and allergies, dermatology, and more. “Clinical research is important and fascinating,” Hassman said, “and for a young person it’s an exciting introduction to the world of science.” A graduate of Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM), Hassman successfully established the new internship with the PCOM doctoral program. The Penn Charter intern won’t be in contact with patients but rather will work in the research laboratories that are part of the college’s PhD program. Along with PC science teacher Timothy Lynch, Hassman and PCOM have designed an internship that, Hassman said, “will engage the student in research involving new pharmaceuticals, new treatments and new devices.” With the first internship up and running (see sidebar), Hassman and Lynch are excited to present the opportunity to more students and more researchers. “We are close to
“I am grateful to Penn Charter, and I thought this was a way to give back and to keep the family legacy in the school.” about 75 percent of his week seeing patients and tending to administrative duties, and the remainder engaged in clinical research. Comprehensive Clinical Research, a family business, conducts clinical research and clinical
getting a commitment from another university and I hope that other researchers will hear about this and think: ‘I do clinical research. We can definitely take a student in and help them learn more about science.’” PC
2013-14 Annual Report of Gifts
Benjamin Szuhaj, a Penn Charter senior, was selected as the first intern of the new Hassman Family Fund for Science Research Innovation. He worked this past summer in a research lab at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM). Along with three graduate students, Ben treated slides of mouse brain tissue with chemicals that stained particular molecules, then viewed the results under a microscope. The project is designed to gather data to test a previous PCOM study linking the infectious disease chlamydia and Alzheimer’s disease. “I am very grateful to have the opportunity to experience real science in a real lab setting,” Ben said of his summer. “Beyond the lab work itself, I have also gotten a feel for what the workplace is like, something which I have never before experienced.” Above, Ben with David Hassman OPC ‘83 and PC science teacher Timothy Lynch.
2013-14 Annual Report of Gifts
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GIVING STORIES: MAKING A DIFFERENCE
WOMEN’S LEGACY FUND Names First Scholars The Women’s Legacy Fund (WLF), established to promote girls athletics at Penn Charter, this year will support financial aid for three female student athletes, a milestone in the development of this young effort. The WLF has held sports workshops to mentor young PC girls, and events where older PC girls can meet and learn from recent female OPCs who have played their sport in college. On a parallel track, the WLF organized a development effort focused on fund-raising and establishing scholarship aid for girl athletes. Although the names of the recipients will remain confidential
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while they are students, the three girls excel in athletics and character. Leaders of the WLF hope that the scholarship and mentorship they offer will be just as transformational for the young women as the James Fox Memorial Scholarship has been for PC male athletes. (See page 24.) The awarding of the WLF scholarships was announced in June at a reception at Germantown Cricket
Club. Women who played sports for Penn Charter gathered with their coaches and fans – a loyal group of parents and teachers and friends who have cheered for many a PC team – on a beautiful spring evening to celebrate “Pivotal Points in PC Girls Athletics’ History and Future.” Rachel Dyer OPC ’92, Melissa Knight OPC ’01 and Catie Skinner OPC ’13 spoke eloquently to the changes and progress throughout the history of the girls athletics program. “PC girls athletics is about being part of a community where your coaches and teammates lend constant support through hard times and your coaches and teammates are the first ones to celebrate with you,” Dyer said. “This is the legacy that began in 1985 and continues today.” PC
View more photos of the event at flicker.com/penncharter/sets.
2013-14 Annual Report of Gifts
In Loving Memory
The late Cheryl Irving Hon. 1689, an iconic Penn Charter teacher and coach, is one of the women who inspired the WLF, along with PC teacher-coaches Liz Flemming, Beth Glascott Hon. 1689 and Debbie White.
The Women’s Legacy Fund (WLF) reception in June was also an occasion to remember two cherished women who died this year. Cheryl Irving Hon. 1689, a long-time PC teacher and coach, is one of the four inspirational women originally honored by the WLF. Blaine Steinberg OPC ’11, a stellar student-athlete, worked during her Senior Comprehensive Project at PC to help develop the messaging and strategy that promote the WLF.
Cheryl Irving and Blaine Steinberg were remembered at the reception in June, and many of their friends and relatives made gifts to Penn Charter this year in memory of the two women. (See pages 55-59).
In the spring of 2011, then senior Blaine Steinberg helped organize the kickoff celebration of the Women’s Legacy Fund scholarship effort. Shown here with her parents, Sid and Jill, Blaine was one of the hosts for the event that drew almost 200 people to celebrate 20 years of girls sports at Penn Charter.
2013-14 Annual Report of Gifts
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GIVING STORIES: MAKING A DIFFERENCE
JAMES FOX MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP:
A Transformational Story “Back then, neighborhood kids didn’t go to college,” Brian McCloskey said. “The mentality was you’ll go to high school, you’ll get a job, you’ll start a family and have a great life. That’s what people did.” McCloskey grew up in Kensington, a working class neighborhood in Philadelphia. Imagine row homes, teamsters, hard-working people sitting on the stoops listening to Phillies games. “People knew who you were and who your parents were.” It was impossible to know at the time, but at just eight years-old McCloskey took the first in a series of steps that would forever shape his path. He started playing football at the nearby Fishtown PAL (Police Athletic League), and his coach, Tommy Thompson, decided that McCloskey was going to play quarterback.
“For whatever reason, he thought I could be that guy,” McCloskey recalled. “He gave me the playbook. I didn’t even know what some of the plays were. I went home and cried to my dad that I couldn’t do it.” But McCloskey did play, and continued playing quarterback exclusively for the rest of his football career. During his freshman year at North Catholic, McCloskey was presented with another opportunity, a spot on the Little Quakers, a team established in 1953 by Bob Levy OPC ’48 to provide eighth and ninth graders opportunities to play for great coaches and experience life beyond the boundaries of their neighborhoods. For McCloskey and dozens of young men like him, it was also a steppingstone to admission at Penn Charter and the prestigious James Fox Memorial Scholarship. “That’s what changed my life.” McCloskey said. “If I don’t go to PC, I don’t go to college,” McCloskey said. He knew that a college education would make a difference, but he also knew that getting there wouldn’t be easy. “I thought if I was going to do it and go to college, Penn Charter would give me the tools to be able to succeed.” The Fox scholarship, established in 1969 by Robert and Penny Fox in memory of their son James, is a need-based award that has made a PC education possible for almost 40 football players from the Little Quakers team. For many, it transformed their lives. “In the neighborhood, you go to North and then you go to work. But now I’m amongst 90 kids at Penn Charter who are all going to college. I can’t be the only person who doesn’t go. I had to study. I had to work hard. I got a lot of help from faculty who spent extra time with me” he said. After PC, McCloskey enrolled at Ursinus College, where he played football and received a degree in economics and business administration. And he returned to Penn Charter.
In a PC tradition that honors faculty, Brian McCloskey OPC ’82 awarded the diploma to his son Colin at this year’s Commencement.
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McCloskey, who is currently dean of students at Penn Charter, is quick to point out that he is only one of many people whose life was transformed by a Penn Charter education made possible through the Fox Scholarship. There is ongoing relationship among the scholars and with the Foxes. “They invite us all back for dinner every year.” McCloskey said, “and we all say thank you.” PC
2013-14 Annual Report of Gifts