Winter 2022 Connections
by Leanne Halma ’99, HCS Director of Advancement
When our family, the Halmas, moved back to Holland four years ago, the priority of our house hunt was finding a location close to Holland Christian Schools. We settled into a home just west of Pine Ridge, in Laketown Township. We had become accustomed to city water in our previous Cincinnati home and were in our new house for about a week when we decided that it was time to call someone to take a look at our well in the backyard, since it was constantly spilling over with water. I was certain this was an issue and that the well needed to be capped.
When the well technician came out to our house, he explained that we have an artesian well, an unusual kind of well from which the water flows up from the ground naturally without pumping. The constant spilling over that we were so concerned about was actually good, and meant the well was in proper running order with an abundance of water below.
The Holland Christian Education Foundation reminds me of this well. Under the surface sits an abundance of gifts that, when invested well, spill over to positively impact the lives of all full-time HC students and families through tuition-reducing grants. And, like our artesian well, it takes very little effort on our part—a little direction and oversight with a whole lot of blessing.
In the late 1980s, HCS parents and the Board of Trustees were recognizing that Christian school tuition was taking a growing percentage of annual household incomes than previous decades.
”Under the surface sits an abundance of gifts that, when invested well, spill over to positively impact the lives of all full-time HC students...
So they started the Foundation in 1989 as a means for friends of Holland Christian to support the school during and beyond their lifetime, and to help Holland Christian keep tuition as affordable as possible for more families. This well, The Foundation, accepts donations of all kinds, but is most commonly filled through estate gifts, also called bequests, given with the intention to keep tuition affordable today, but also making it sustainable for years to come.
In a continued effort to keep HCS tuition affordable, a faithful HC supporter has generously offered a matching gift opportunity of $1,000,000 to help grow the Holland Christian Education Foundation, to provide support for both today and the future. For any household committing to a donation from their future estate plan for either 5% or $50,000, a $20,000 matching gift will be given to the Foundation today through this matching gift offer. What an amazing opportunity for wide-spread community participation to help grow the Foundation and support the worthy cause of Christian education for future generations! Because the larger the total Foundation amount, the more each HCS student can be given in a tuition grant!
”RVL gives a lesson on “living waters” and how special they were in Hebrew culture— water like the oasis En Gedi that is moving, refreshing and incredibly encouraging...
Would you consider joining Holland Christian in completing this match? Maybe you’ve already included Holland Christian in your estate, but haven’t let us know yet. Now would be a great time to tell of this commitment and join our Heritage Society, while also earning our Foundation a $20,000 matching gift! Or maybe you’ve been considering a revision to your estate that would include Holland Christian Schools. We’d love to hear from you as we work to complete this match as well!
When HCS Bible teacher Ray VanderLaan tours student groups through Israel, he always gives a lesson on “living waters” and how special they were in Hebrew culture— water like the oasis En Gedi that is moving, refreshing and incredibly encouraging in the middle of difficult desert terrain. En Gedi is water that flows out of a rock literally— similar to my artesian well in my backyard—just a complete gift and blessing to those who come across it. Our HC Education Foundation is this gift and blessing to a host of students and their families, helping to make their attendance at Holland Christian viable now and in the future.
Thank you to all of you who have invested in the Holland Christian Education Foundation, who have included it in your estates, or who might be thinking about doing so soon. We’ve all been blessed by those who created and donated to the Foundation—they encourage us, challenge us, and refresh us at Holland Christian Schools to press on for equipping students and nurturing their hearts. We are overcome with gratitude for the many of you who invest in the lives of our HC students, families and staff. And we look forward to the continued growth and blessings that the Foundation provides.
