SECURING OUR FUTURE by Giving Back: Alumni Class Challenge
It all started when five classmates decided to challenge their fellow members to demonstrate ‘Goodness’ by creating the Class of 1984 Bursary as a way to pay it forward. Once this bursary was established, the class issued the Alumni Class Challenge, asking: “Is your Class up to the Class of ’84 Challenge?” To date, nine classes have responded to the challenge of raising $25,000 over five years to establish their own class bursary, including the Class of 1955.
All donations to a class bursary are invested in perpetuity and the interest gained is awarded to a student. As the principal grows, so can the amount awarded, or additional student awards can be given. The Advancement Office can help in starting a bursary as well as connecting with classmates. “In 2015, I contacted a handful of graduating classmates and suggested a 50th year reunion,” said Carlo De Pellegrin ’66, OSM. “We got started and before I knew it we had doubled our number of volunteers. The experience was terrific and provided the spark to establish the bursary. The boys of the ’60s became men of the 21st century. We have always known that we have a history with a couple of hundred brothers who experienced the Basilian education that linked us together forever.” Visit smcsgive.com, and look for the logo below to see if your class has responded to the challenge or learn how to start your class bursary, like the Class of 1993.
“Those of us who were boarders traditionally have very tight relationships,” said Stan MacLellan ’55. “Not only have we established our class bursary, we have been meeting every five years since our 50th anniversary.”
24 i BLUEBANNER
“Inspired by the Class of ’84, the idea to establish a Class of ’93 Bursary was first discussed over dinner with a bunch of classmates,” relates Marc Montemurro ’93. “The conversation centered on rising tuition rates, and the realization that many of the members at dinner that night would not have been able to attend SMCS if the tuition was what it is now. We discussed how lucky we felt to have attended the school, and we all felt that we benefited from the experience of a St. Mike’s education. We wanted to give back in a way that would help the next generation of students. The Bursary was started to help ensure that no deserving boy is turned away due to financial constraints.”
