Annual Gifts

The Annual Fund allows the Academy to raise money on an annual basis for projects that are above and beyond the resources of its operating budget.  Having dedicated our annual fund toward the library renovation project for the past three years, this year we have turned our attention to the establishment of a building and maintenance fund.

Most certainly, a school is judged first by the quality of its educational standards and its teachers. The Academy prides itself on finding creative ways to offer a wide range of opportunity to all students. To do this, we must have adequate facilities, programs, tools and the financial resources to maintain them. A long-term maintenance fund will ensure our dollars are invested wisely by prolonging the vitality of our buildings and avoiding major repair costs.

The Woodstock Academy campus is truly unique for a secondary school. Built in 1873, the grand old Academy Building is one of New England’s oldest operating academic buildings. This building, the Ely Ransom Hall Memorial building and the Howard W. Bracken building surround a cluster of additions representative of the history and development of both the Academy and the town.

Over the past two centuries the Academy has grown, working diligently to remain a strong part of the cultural and historic landscape of the community. These assets not only represent a historic sense of place for the school, but also of our community and its physical embodiment. The restoration of the Academy building in 1992 is a prime example of this commitment. It brought the building into full active reuse and assured its place as the focal point of the campus and Woodstock Common.

These buildings are more than bricks, mortar and clapboard. They invoke memories shared by many generations. Students once raced to the book room on the third floor in the Academy building, or the “White Building” until its most recent renovation, only to find a line winding down the staircase where freshmen in paper hats were always redirected to the end. In the old auditorium, on the second floor, many a student discovered their theatrical talents on the stage, and in later years, creativity flourished on the pottery wheels, easels, and drafting tables that filled the room. From the pavilion windows generations have gazed across a snowy Common at the Hill Church. Across campus, arched windows shine above what was once the “crows nest” in the Hall gym, framing the bell tower atop the Academy Building whose chimes are an hourly reminder of our heritage.

To preserve these valuable historical assets, this year’s annual appeal will establish a building and maintenance fund. This fund represents care and concern for a very special place, where students spend the most formidable years of their lives. It is an opportunity to preserve the uniqueness of the Academy campus and the memories that are housed within its hallowed halls.

Please join me in ensuring the future of our historic campus by giving to the 2008-09 Annual Appeal.

Sincerely,

Kristen Willis, Class of 1976
Director, Development and Alumni Relations