“Huge!” Karen Gordon says as she looks up to the ceiling grappling for a better way to emphasize her point. Karen is a communications professional. She speaks certainly and emphatically about most topics but when asked what Trafalgar Castle School means to her family, she’s a woman of few, very meaningful words: “Huge. It’s everything.”
Meet Karen: a current Trafalgar parent, newly elected member of our Board of Directors and the Leadership Donor to the 2019-2020 Head of School Initiative: the Loggia Winterization.
Karen’s daughter Natalie, now in Grade 10, joined the Trafalgar community partway through her Grade 9 year. In the fall of 2018 they knew they needed to make a change so Karen began researching schools. Time and time again, she was guided toward Trafalgar.
“You only need to be here for five minutes and talk with Dr. Foster for five minutes before you realize the difference this place is making for young women; the empowerment, the advocacy. It’s unbelievable,” said Karen.
Impressed by the curriculum, staff and the School’s ability to open students’ eyes to so much while supporting each individual’s existing interests (in Natalie’s case – competitive trampoline), Karen says the choice was a natural one to enrol Natalie. One year later, Karen has seen the impact Trafalgar has had on her daughter and her decision to support the School with a significant gift also felt natural.
“If we look at great institutions like Trafalgar Castle School and other institutions that we benefit from every day – hospitals, schools, other charities – I feel it’s our responsibility to give back. If we want great institutions to continue to grow and thrive, it requires all of us to do our part”, said Karen.
Karen is passionate about leading the way for the 2019-2020 Loggia Winterization.
“When deciding where to designate my gift, I took a look around. I saw this space where young women were congregating, having great, life-changing conversations and just loved how it was being used.”
The Loggia renovation started as a grassroots, student-led project and in the spirit of fostering entrepreneurialism and leadership in our students, Dr. Foster encouraged the girls’ idea.
“Our goal is to help all of the girls find their voice,” explains Dr. Foster. “When students have the courage to come to me with a well-researched idea and a creative plan that solves a real problem, I’m so proud. It shows that we are doing our job.”
The Annual Fund allowed Dr. Foster to say YES to the girls’ idea to decorate the Loggia and turn it into a usable space for students. Redecoration was step one. Karen’s leadership gift is kicking off step two: winterizing the space so it’s usable all year long.
But Karen cannot do it alone! Your support is needed to replace the existing windows and install heating in this beautifully renewed part of the School. Once it’s a functional year-round space for the girls to gather, Karen has just one more hope: “I wish I could be a fly on the wall in here and listen to our daughters talk about how they’re going to change the world!”
To learn more about this project, please contact Sheila Street, Director of Advancement at 905-668-3358 ext. 270 or by email.
To make an immediate gift toward the Loggia Winterization, please visit our donation page.