Giving Back: Dick Hoffman 

Over the past 50 years since my class graduated from Friends Select School, I have been what might be generously described as a “sporadic” donor.

However, recently, I had the joyous pleasure of attending our 50th reunion. It had been 45 years since I last attended a reunion, so it provided me with an opportunity to reconnect with my schoolmate family, rekindle friendships, and even heal prior hurts. One of my sons told me that I should consider the event quite monumental because after this life nothing can be guaranteed. Indeed, one of our classmates passed away just months before the reunion, and while the reunion occurred, we anxiously waited for news of another classmate who was going through a serious health crisis. So, the reunion has given me an important opportunity to reflect.  
   
I began at Friends Select in the old school building, left in the new school building, and then recently returned for Alumni Weekend to tour the totally new STEAM Building. I observed the physical changes at the school, but more importantly, through my numerous conversations with Michael Gary, Christine Jefferson, and current teachers, I felt inspired by the positive social and academic changes and confident in their vision and leadership for a vibrant future. In deciding where to donate money among the numerous and various academic institutions that have been a part of our family’s life, an overriding factor has been where it can make the most impact and difference. We’ve now concluded that making a legacy gift to Friends Select—with its surprisingly small endowment but with its lofty goals and dedicated, inspiring leadership—is the best match of need and impact. We have also decided that committing funds to the Named Scholarship Program that directly impacts the life of one current student offers the potential of producing a “gratitude” graduate, who I hope will not need 50 years to ponder the gift of giving back.