Page Updated: December 20, 2012
Lead by a transformational commitment of $5 million in May 2010 from alumnus Ming Wai Lau '97 and his family, through The Joseph Lau Luen Hung Charitable Trust, Crescent’s Great Boys campaign has secured more than $21.7 million towards the goal of $30 million. Innes Field, the Lau Family Wing, the Margaret Donnelly Library, along with International Outreach are now fully funded, and fundraising continues to support Crescent Student Services/R&D in Boys' Education, Robotics and Technology and Student Financial Aid. The School will continue to fundraise for these three program initiatives. The School's next capital project is the Library and the Commons, which has an estimated cost of $13 million. This project will further transform our campus, but most importantly it will greatly enhance the learning, character development and student experience for our boys.
Leadership gifts have been committed from across the Crescent community - the Board of Governors, The Crescent School Foundation Board of Directors, alumni, current and past parents, grandparents, friends and staff. As the campaign continues over the next few years, all members of the Crescent Community will be invited and encouraged to participate to the best of their abilities
The Crescent Parent Association (CPA), formerly known as the Crescent School Guild, led the campaign with a seven-year commitment of $700,000. This pledge established The CPA Centennial Scholarship Fund, which was awarded for the first time in 2012. This Scholarship augments The Dentonia Scholarship Program with a goal of attracting the best and brightest students to Crescent, especially those whose family’s financial circumstances would not allow for a Crescent School education. In the spring 2012, the CPA committed an additional $600,000 to the Great Boys campaign in support of the new Library. This takes their total commitment to $1.3 million, making the CPA the campaign’s second largest donor.
Six-time Crescent grandparents Joan and the late Bill Livingston, with the full support of their family, donated $500,000 to establish The Livingston Family Fund in support of local outreach initiatives. This fund enables Crescent students and faculty to partner with their peers at Toronto District School Board (TDSB) schools in the Jane/Finch and Scarborough areas, providing much-needed and mutually beneficial mentoring and tutoring support throughout the academic year.
Commitments in support of Innes Field and the net proceeds of Crescent’s 08/Gala have provided a world-class athletic facility for the benefit of current and future Crescent students. Additional recent major gifts of $100,000 or more have been provided in support of a variety of Crescent’s capital and programmatic initiatives including the new Lau Family Wing, Crescent Student Services/Research & Development in Boys’ Education, Robotics and Technology, Student Financial Aid, and International Outreach.
Donations to the School's Annual Giving program also support the Great Boys campaign. Since the fall of 2010, alumni and past parents have asked for their support of the campaign through the Annual Giving program. This will continue on a yearly basis during the life of the campaign. Since February 2011, our current and incoming parents have been asked to support the School's Annual Giving program by doubling or tripling their annual gift. The response is very encouraging, and these gifts will help considerably in the heavy lifting that still lies ahead in order to reach the $30 million goal.
We are delighted with the campaign's progress to date. We know that the full and generous support of all members of our community will enable us to reach the goal. We offer our sincere thanks to those individuals and families who have provided early momentum, and to those who are also making an impact by providing their major and annual gifts today. Thank you for joining us as we keenly anticipate the changes and improvements that will result from the Great Boys campaign proceeds, and the many tangible benefits for current and future generations of Crescent students.