September 21, 2022

Rector’s eNews – 21 September 2022

/ Rector's eNews

Sean Lumley, the Vice-President of the Old Boys’ Club, has been working tirelessly on the project above and we have some exciting news to share! On 12 and 13 October, we are going to bring the Michaelhouse Community together online in a way we have never done before. We are going to have our first ever online Giving Day. This is an idea that began in American universities about 10 years ago, then spilled over into American, British and Australian schools. The idea is to harness the power and reach of the internet to bring the global Michaelhouse community together (online) – parents, past parents, staff, Old Boys, friends of Michaelhouse and boys – to change lives through the raising of funds for a broad church of causes that are important to us.

WATCH our welcome video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfDMedq6vf4

Our causes are going to focus on some of our emerging long term (generational) thinking for our school:
1. Ensuring that Michaelhouse remains accessible to as many South Africans as possible,
2. Outreach into the local Community,
3. Estate planning up until 2046 (150 year anniversary)
4. 4. Striving to be South Africa’s leading sustainable school.

We have chosen EIGHT causes. They range from support to projects in the local community; to changing lives through contributions to bursaries; to infrastructure projects such as a roof for the water polo pool to create an international standard aquatics centre; to energy sustainability projects (solar); to funds that just help ‘fill in the gaps’ for our boys by funding extras (sports kit, cultural tours, etc) that enable boys to experience all that Michaelhouse has to offer.
Over the holidays, we will continue the build up towards the Giving Day by sharing more information and videos on each of the causes. This will culminate in the Giving Day itself held the first week we are back at school on Wednesday 12 and Thursday 13 October – finishing just in time for us to announce the results on Speech Day on Friday 14 October.
For there to be ‘results’, there must be an aim? There is. Our aim is not so much a monetary figure as it is numbers of donors: 450. This number represents about 5% of those who might consider donating to the idea and the institution that is Michaelhouse. It includes all the living Old Boys, all the current parents and all the past parents going back 20 years. If we can reach this number of donors, it means we have a solid base to build upon as we look to how we fund our future.
The engine of success will be driven by engagement and awareness. We hope this will become a community effort with voluntary sharing on WhatsApp, email and social media. There will be challenges submitted by the boys and the community to encourage giving and to have some fun in the process! There will also be an Ambassador programme for those who want to be more involved (more on this next week direct from the Giving Day team).
For now, to help us get awareness and engagement underway, here is an easily shareable link with all you need to know about the Giving Day:

PLEASE SHARE: https://www.notion.so/michaelhouse/FAQs-for-the-1st-Michaelhouse-Giving-Day-2022-f8652c92aa7a4eb8b621f7db917e541e

Read the full Rector’s eNews here

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