Spring Soirée 2023

At The Bowery Hotel

On the evening of Wednesday, April 26th, all was quiet at school on West 10th Street; our entire adult community was on the East side at the Bowery Hotel, toasting to the year at our annual Spring Soirée. This event is our only child-free event of the year—an opportunity for parents and staff to get to know each other outside of the context of the classroom, as well as to recognize and celebrate our shared commitment to the Mission and students of VCS.

The mingling, drinking, and dancing took a pause midevening for a Paddle Raise dedicated to the Fund-a-Need, an annual fundraising campaign to underwrite a specific school program, partnership, or learning resource. This year, every gift pledged to the Fund-a-Need went toward establishing the VCS Staff Venture Grant Fund, which will support meaningful professional development experiences for staff for generations to come.

Our parent community, which had already generously underwritten the cost of staff tickets to the Soirée, continued to demonstrate their investment in our staff by giving just as generously to the Fund-a-Need. With the very-persuasive David Amsterdam emceeing, we were able to raise over $200,000 for Staff Venture Grants, representing hundreds of workshops, retreats, classes, and travel VCS staff will undertake to enrich their learning, their teaching, and their lives.

We are so grateful to our Spring Soirée Co-Chairs

Wendy Amsterdam, Alexis Litman, and Beth McNellis for their hard work planning this community event, and to all who donated to our brand-new Staff Venture Grant Fund. It was certainly a night to remember!