Become a HEARTHKEEPER and Keep the Home Fires of Trinity College Burning!
Dear Trinity College Alumni & Friends,
The Association exists to keep the memory of Trinity College alive and our graduates, faculty, and friends connected. With this comes many expenses. Through Hearthkeepers, the Association supports:
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The web site ($150/year plus $70/3 years for our domain name)
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Constant Contact, which hosts our online newsletter and email list ($40 per month)
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A Post Office box ($82/year) and pays postage for hundreds of mailings (to print and mail the fliers for Reunion 2015 was almost $2000)
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The yearly Reunion Weekend which includes paying the registration fee for the Sisters of Mercy, our Outstanding Alumni and their guest, and our scholarship winner and their guest).
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An annual $1000 annual scholarship through VSAC. At Reunion each year we hold a basket raffle to fund the scholarship, but if enough money is not raised, the balance comes from the Hearthkeepers fund.
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In addition, there can be many other costs that don’t end up being covered by focused fundraising. For example, in 2015 we raised money to have a plaque created and mounted at the Villa for the Sisters of Mercy. (This plaque had been planned as part of the sales agreement to UVM, but was never created.) It explains their history with the College and the building’s historic significance, but we fell short of the fundraising goal and again, paid the difference from the Hearthkeepers fund.
As we know all of you are aware, each year the number of Alumni diminishes.. However, our expenses do not drop. We may reduce the number of invitations by a few, but attendance at Reunion tends to remain consistent. We work hard to handle the money you entrust to us very carefully, such as only sending “flyers” as invitations in place of the beautiful, but more expensive, ones of the past, effectively cutting that cost almost in half. We are trying to select nice locations for Reunion that do not have hefty rental and catering fees because we do not want to have to raise the cost for attending any higher than absolutely necessary (and most years, we pay more out of Hearthkeepers than the amount we charge Alumni to attend).
Please consider becoming a HEARTHKEEPER by making a minimum annual contribution of $25.00 by reunion weekend in June. Be creative by making a donation in amount of your graduation year (Class of 1976 - $76), cover the expense of the PO Box for 1 year, have your donation match your reunion (40th reunion= $40), or sponsor a guest for the luncheon. Every amount truly helps. Remember that any donations are tax deductible as well!
We also hope that you will reach out to those "good ole college friends", many of whom are still a part of our lives, and encourage them to become a Hearthkeeper as well. The members of our ever-widening circle of Hearthkeepers will be celebrated each year at Reunion.
The Trinity College of Vermont Association of Alumni & Friends is asking you to make a commitment to contribute each year to your Alumni Association.The Association needs your support to continue our mission of keeping the Trinity Spirit alive!
Please send your HEARTHKEEPER contribution to:
Trinity College of Vermont
Association of Alumni and Friends
P.O. Box 5186
Essex Junction, VT 05453
Thank you for caring enough to become a HEARTHKEEPER!
The Trinity College Association of Alumni
& Friends Board of Directors