Legacy Matters
Dec 2018
Vancouver Legacy Luncheon On a beautiful Friday, overlooking Vancouver Harbour from within the Terminal City Club, a small group of Legacy Society Members and multiple-year donors enjoyed lunch and motivational musings from the school’s new Headmaster, Richard ‘Larry’ Lamont. Shawnigan’s Legacy Society is a donor appreciation program designed to recognize the generous philanthropy of alumni, faculty, staff, parents and friends who, each year, support the school through their contribution of a planned or deferred gift, often a gift in their will. We call these thoughtful bequests “legacy gifts.” Guests also heard from Ian McBean, a graduate of the Class of 1968, who recently played an important role in organizing his year’s 50th class reunion. During the reunion weekend, Ian had the opportunity to chat with one of the school’s prefects and scholarship recipients, whose father had passed away at far too young an age. This young man’s career at Shawnigan, and that of his brother, was only made possible through scholarships they received for their scholastic and athletic capabilities. This student explained he recently received a significant scholarship offer to attend Yale University next fall. He agreed to accept the offer on the condition that his brother also be awarded a scholarship for the following year, which Yale accepted. Learning about this young man’s experiences not only reinforced Ian’s commitment to leaving a legacy gift to Shawnigan, but encouraged him to share this story hoping that others might make a similar commitment to leave a gift in their will. This particular Shawnigan success story, as with many others, would not have been possible without the school’s endowment funds, which support our scholarships and bursaries program. Planned gifts bequeathed to Shawnigan by donors like Ian have helped the school’s endowments to grow in size over the years, increasing the financial assistance that we can offer to deserving students and the impact that we can have on their lives. With your help, we can continue to support outstanding young men and women who would otherwise not be able to access a Shawnigan education, allowing us to attract, retain and graduate the leaders of tomorrow.
I welcome the chance to discuss how you might be inspired to become a member of the school’s Legacy Society. You might be surprised how big an impact you can make. Let me show you how you can unleash your inner philanthropist while maximizing tax advantages and financial flexibility. For those of you living near Victoria, we are planning a Spring Legacy Luncheon on April 5, 2019 at the Union Club. I will once again be reaching out to current Legacy Society members and to multi-year donors to invite you to this luncheon. I look forward to hearing from you and sharing more legacy stories in the New Year.
David Stephen '92 receiving a copy of "Century: A history of Shawnigan Lake School" from Headmaster Richard 'Larry' Lamont.
Hilary S. Abbott Legacy Giving habbott@shawnigan.ca (250)743-6236