Foxcroft Receives a Sweet Gift from Mars Family

Foxcroft Receives a Sweet Gift from Mars Family

The Foxcroft School in Middleburg has received a $22 million gift to support the construction of a STEAM wing on the campus, the largest gift made to the allgirls school by living donors in its 108-year history.

The grant was made by members of the Mars family who graduated from the school, Victoria Beth Mars and Pamela Mars Wright and their daughters Bernadette Schuetz Russell and Charlotte Audrey Rossetter.

Mars family members left to right Charlotte Audrey Rossetter, Pamela Mars Wright, Victoria Beth Mars, Bernadette Schuetz Russel.

The creation of a Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts, and Math wing is part of Foxcroft’s $65 million, 10-year “Building for Our Future” campaign.

“For a family to come together and give a transformative gift like this because they see the current and future possibilities of the school is amazing,” said Foxcroft Head of School Cathy McGehee. “This gift will create new learning spaces and laboratories that reflect best practices for teaching girls the way they learn best, which is at the heart of Foxcroft’s mission.

Russell also serves on the school’s board of trustees.

“The four of us—my mother Victoria, my aunt Pamela, my cousin Charlotte, and myself—feel very strongly about the school and our experiences there and believe in the need to give back and help the school advance,” Russell said. “We made this gift because we believe in women supporting women, in investing in the place that is important to us, and in inspiring others to join in support of this vital effort to help our school reach its campaign goal.”

Victoria Beth Mars and Pamela Mars Wright previously served on the board and have regularly shared with the school community their experiences and expertise as leaders of Mars, Inc., one of the largest privately held companies in the U.S.

The Middleburg Library Advisory Board has announced the establishment of a college scholarship in memory of the late Eura Lewis, a long-time Middleburg resident and a former member of the board who died last January 25 at the age of 92. The scholarship amount is $5,500 and would be available for students who will be starting college or resuming their studies.

Eura Lewis championed community involvement and her slogan was “Making a Difference.” She retired after teaching for 40 years in Fauquier County Public Schools, was treasurer of the Fauquier County Retired Teachers Association, and was elected and served on the Town Council of Middleburg for 12 years.

The Middleburg United Methodist Church located at the corner of Washington and Pendleton Streets still retains the original steeple bell with the 1857 stamp. And now, the need for repair of church’s old brick walkway has created an opportunity for members of the church and the community to replicate memories in stone by purchasing individual bricks that can be etched with memories such as births, baptisms, weddings, deaths, etc.

The need to repair the walkway also created an opportunity for local Eagle Scout Thomas Basinger to pursue an organizational honor when he assembled his fellow scouts to deconstruct the old walkway in two days. The scouts then used those bricks to create a patio in the play area behind the church.

The bricks are $150 each and can be engraved with one to three lines with no more than 17 characters and spaces per line.

To place an order, visit the church website, www. mburgumc.org, click on Events, Engraved Brick Fundraisers, then download and print the .pdf form, and mail it with your check to the address on the form.