Dear Friends,

When our children were very young and we began to look around our community for pre-schools, we chose Goshen Friends School for its Quaker-based education, its focus on individual learning and community, its dedicated and caring teachers and staff, and its fine reputation. After joining Goshen Friends through its three year old pre-school classes, we became even more impressed with the quality of education the school offered.

At that time, the pre-school occupied three classrooms in an addition to the Meetinghouse that replaced the horse carriage sheds. Kindergarten classes were held in half of the Meetinghouse. The lower school was just getting started in the Grange building and in a portable trailer housing three classrooms.

Before long, we decided to make the commitment for our children to attend Goshen Friends School through 5th grade.  The school provided a strong academic foundation, excellent organizational skills, and a love for learning that transformed the educational process in ways we never imagined. In retrospect, some 20+ years later, this was both the best decision and the best investment we made in our children's education.

After graduating from Goshen Friends, our children moved on to middle school, high school, and universities where they excelled in both their academic and extra-curricular activities. Today, as young adults, our children look back with fondness and gratitude for their years at Goshen Friends, and along with us, realize what a gift attending the most unique independent school in the area was. In addition to the many benefits our children gained from their time at Goshen Friends, as parents we have made life-long friendships with other Goshen parents.

Even though our children graduated when Goshen Friends School started the first phase of its capital campaign in 2000, we have stayed involved in the school community and have dedicated ourselves to support all three phases of the school's campaign. Now we begin the third and final phase of Goshen's plan to "Complete the Circle" by constructing a much-needed multi-purpose facility and creating an endowment to support faculty and staff salaries and to increase financial aid. Our families are making another significant contribution towards reaching these goals.

As our teachers and staff go about their daily work of educating Goshen Friends students, we see the same foundation building blocks being laid for another generation to benefit from the excellent Goshen Friends School experience.

We invite you to join us to provide the children, faculty and staff – both present and future – of this beloved school with the multi-purpose building and endowment needed to continue the excellence of the school's mission.

In friendship,
Joe Stratton, Chair
Tom Woodward, Honorary Chair
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