February 2009

Our Capital Campaign Committee has traveled far and wide to access the resources needed to raise this school up out of the ground. This past month we were privileged to spend an afternoon in New York at Wolf Kahn's studio receiving a private tour with Wolf and other Hilltop grandparents, alum and special friends. It was a remarkable time spent meeting new friends, reconnecting with old ones, and enjoying a preview of Wolf's 2009 Spring Exhibit. We all send a huge thank you to Wolf for his generosity and time on that wintry afternoon.

Many Ways to Give

I am often amazed at the creative ways that Hilltop families have found to donate to the Capital Campaign. Recently, at Christmastime, four Upper and Lower El girls went Caroling for donations and raised $24 which they sent directly to the fund. Many thanks to Rhea Smith, Paxton and Julia Angell, and Kerrigan Walsh for finding such a unique way to have fun, celebrate the holidays, and give back to the school all at the same time. Way to go girls!

Right around the same time during the holidays, Kevin opened a pledge envelope at his desk. Out fell a check for $20,000 from an alum grandparent who was making a first time donation to Hilltop. They had been following the progress of the new school building through their granddaughter and wanted to take advantage of a tax benefit by donating part of their IRA proceeds. Needless to say, it was a fantastic surprise and very welcome gift to the Campaign, for which we are deeply grateful to the entire family.

This past month our fundraising surpassed $52,000! Not bad for a single month! Now we are working hard to raise an additional $200,000 in the next 60 days, at which point, as many of you are aware, if we are successful, we can slide the Middle School Addition into this first phase of the building of the Hilltop Montessori campus. We are actively talking to builders and getting a sense of the scope and budget for the Addition and presenting the financial picture to the Board of Directors. As you have heard before, this is an excellent time to give to the Campaign, especially to support those students rising into their new Middle School quarters in the next few years.

Hope to see many of you at the Community Meeting and Site Tour on March 12th and Friends of Hilltop Benefit Auction at the Brattleboro Museum and Art Center on March 21st. Around that time you should be getting another Update (#8) with new photos of the school with walls, a roof, and windows even!

All best,
Melany Kahn
Chair Capital Campaign

You can download a pdf of this Capital Campaign, which is combined with a Facilities Update.