We at the Waldorf School of Louisville, wish you a warm and bright Martinmas!
This is the time of year when Waldorf Schools all over the world celebrate the goodness and light that was courageously ignited at Michaelmas, exuberantly celebrated at Diwali, and now reverently kindled at Martinmas during our Lantern Walk.
This is a reflective time of year at Waldorf, as we stand at the gates of winter, preparing for the darker months ahead. 2020 has certainly been a year of challenges. While the winter months are normally the time where we can tend to feel isolated from others or need extra support, this entire year has been full of unprecedented challenges, moments of darkness, and a longing for the warmth of being together.
Change always brings upheaval, and beginning in March, things began to change very quickly for our school and our children. We know… this year looks different in a lot of ways. Our children have new routines, new challenges, and new ways to be together. While logistics may have changed, our mission thrives and our work continues!
Waldorf remains committed to providing an unwavering light for our children to follow,
no matter how dark the world around us becomes.
We know that you share that commitment, and understand the importance of providing children with a safe, stable learning environment that meets their physical, social, and emotional needs. Now more than ever before, in this year of uncertainty and darkness, our children need to find comfort and warmth in the rhythm and routine that Waldorf brings. Many of our families have been directly impacted by COVID-19 to the point that they worried about having to withdraw their children from school, as bills piled up and income dwindled.
In response, our community has come together; Teaching and Administrative Faculties, Trustees, and a dedicated team of parent volunteers, to review the dramatically increased needs of the community, and meet those families at a financial place where they were able to continue their child’s education. To strike a balance between the increased need within our community, and our own financial obligations: operating our school and paying our teachers, we are depending on the Children’s Campaign to help make up the difference.
The story of Martinmas tells us that Martin shares half of his cloak with the beggar. This gift of half is the symbolic nature of sharing: half of the gift is of the earth (the physical cloak) and the other half is of the heavens (generosity of spirit).
This is what we can carry within us as we guide our children on the Lantern Walk, or through difficult moments at school, or as we face the challenges and struggles of this year. Whatever we find to give in our relationships, whenever we participate wholeheartedly in intentional community, this becomes the vessel from which goodness can rain down upon the earth.
If there has ever been a time to come together as a community and let the light in our hearts shine bright, it is upon us!
The Waldorf School’s annual Children’s Campaign provides essential support to the school’s operating budget. Like all independent schools in the U.S., WSL relies on gifts to contribute to the operational gap – the difference between tuition and the actual cost of a Waldorf education. This year in particular, we will need your help to bridge the widening gap. Our 2020 campaign is off to a successful start, having raised almost $19,000 of our $60,000 goal during Give for Good day! To all who helped us launch with such a strong opening, we thank you! Through your generosity, we have taken the first step in keeping our campus open, and adapting our spaces to receive the children in both joy and safety!
If you have not donated yet, or if you did, but feel like you can do more to support our community’s increased need for financial assistance, now is the time to let your light shine bright!
In a small school like ours, each and every gift has a direct impact. When you give in any amount, you are supporting the children in your child’s class, and helping a friend or fellow parent continue their child’s Waldorf education. When you give, you also ensure that your child attends a school with an economically diverse community. Waldorf’s vision is to welcome all children and families, regardless of their financial situation, but we can only realize that dream with your help.
Please join us in celebrating the warmth each of us brings to the world by making your donation to support the work and mission of the Waldorf School of Louisville.
To donate to the 2020 Children's Campaign:
Scan the QR Code OR
Click the green button to donate via Pay-Pal OR
Click the blue to download a pledge form
