Blog / Together, We Grow
Together, we empower individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) to grow and thrive!
Graduation is such a special time of the year on campus. It is time for us to celebrate the many accomplishments of the students, the dedication and loyalty of our faculty, and the proud smiles and tears of family and friends. The students from the Class of 2023 persevered through many defining moments. They started their education during a pandemic, experiencing a first year quite different from other classes before them. Through it all, they grew individually and in their relationships.
“Before Shepherds College, I didn’t fit in at school. People bullied me for being different. I didn’t have good friends until I got to Shepherds. Here, I’m close to everyone. We understand each other. We’re like broken pieces that somehow all fit together to make a wholeness – one great Class of 2023!” — Lydia, Culinary Arts, Class of 2023
As we celebrate what God has already done on campus, we also celebrate what God continues to do in bringing us more students each year. The Class of 2026 is set to be the largest first-year class in our 15-year history. Praise be to the Lord!
I had the privilege of touring with a prospective student and her teacher this past spring; a student that had a strong desire to attend Shepherds College when she graduates in 2024, a student that has already defined many moments in her life, and a student that without scholarship funds will not be able to attend Shepherds College. As she was leaving that day, she made a point to look at each of us in our eyes, shook our hands, and said, “See you in 2024.” In my heart, I made a vow to make sure that we would see her in 2024!
Her story, like many others, and her perseverance to push through all barriers to attend Shepherds fuels me in what I have the honor of doing at Shepherds Foundation in raising funds to support the work of Shepherds College, including raising need-based scholarship funds. Over 54% of our student population receives scholarship funds to attend Shepherds College. Over the past 15 years, 116 students have dreamed of attending, and we had scholarship funds available to award so that money would not deter them from enrolling.
We need you to continue to invest in the lives of students at Shepherds College. So, I am inviting you to partner with us in powerful ways. Please consider these options:
Invitation to Partner with Shepherds College®
- Give to the annual scholarship fund
- Pray for the faculty, staff, students, and alums
- Plan your gift legacy to Shepherds College in your Estate Plan
- Share the mission and work of Shepherds College within your sphere of influence
Scholarship Funds Needed: $1,500,000
Your gift enables us to educate young adults with IDD in one of our three accredited programs, strengthen their faith and empower them to grow in their independence through graduated responsibility with full accountability inside our Appropriate IndependenceTM approach.
Options in how to grow your current impact and bless future students
- Gifts of Appreciated Securities allow for an immediate impact by contributing long-term appreciated securities while saving taxes!
- Qualified Charitable Distribution allows for an immediate impact while satisfying your required minimum distribution while saving taxes!
- Charitable Gift Annuity allows for a lasting impact on the mission of Shepherds College while providing an income stream for your life!
To learn more about how to financially partner with Shepherds College, please call a member of the Shepherds Foundation team at 414.587.2476 or email dtennyck@shepherdscollege.edu.
Published in Volume 6, Issue 2 of SOAR Magazine.