President’s Year-End Message – December 2023

Giving Back is The Best Gift

Dear Fellow English High Alumni,

In the words of one Alumni benefactor who said it’s nice to be comfortable in life with money in the bank but the best feeling is to give some of it away. Just yesterday over lunch, this same donor mentioned something both our mothers espoused, ‘don’t dwell on feeling sorry for yourself, there is always someone else worse off’. Feel good about yourself. Think positive….help someone less fortunate out.

We know most folks who are philanthropic give to more than one cause. You don’t have to have a lot to give.  Personally, I give my time, energy and dollars when and where I can. Although lucky to have attended some of the best schools, I give most of my energy and financial support where it is needed most….English High School (Alumni).

We are always searching for opportunities to give and give back. Tutoring Center and Career Pathways are two programs helping with student enrichment and development programs.

Recently, in the Legal & Protective Services’ Career Pathways (Mr. Green) course, we had two former attorneys (one a retired judge, the other works in Suffolk County D.A.’s office) take time ‘giving back’ by lecturing in the classroom. Students heard about real-world experiences in future legal careers. What better way to give students an education in a specific profession? Both alums credit former English’s Mock Trial program as influences on their career aspirations when they attended English. An enrichment program similar to what the Pathways course does now.

One recent English graduate, Anderson Guerrero ’23, who attended the above Pathways course and wants a career in law enforcement said, Mr. Green’s course was influential in his getting into Norwich University as a Criminal Justice major. The icing on the cake for Anderson was the alumni scholarship support he received via Stewart Scholarship to attend Norwich this fall.

Scholarships are wonderful way of giving back. They financially bolster students’ critical first year needs. In recent years, the Association has awarded many scholarships to students attending: Simmons’ esteemed Nursing Program, Wellesley College, UMass, Babson, BU and many others. The English High School Association of Boston is a 501 C 3 organization and any scholarship, small or large, is fully is tax deductible.

In 2024, we have three new scholarships coming online totaling over $110,000. These types of giving further ensure our graduates’ college success. Some alums are unsure of how to offer a scholarship or how much to gift. We are here to start a conversation about scholarships, if interested. All scholarships are: 1. managed by the Association 2. can be of any size 3. no management fee and fully tax deductible.

Won’t you help the Association with a gift while providing for English students at the same time? Having done this ‘giving thing’, IT’S THE RIGHT THING TO DO!

To all those faithful alums who have given, some multiple times this year, we thank you very much!!

Have a great holiday season and look forward with us to a prosperous 2024.

Thanks, for your consideration.