The Yale Club of Chicago Foundation

A Letter from Roger W. Shepard '68, President of the Yale Club of Chicago Foundation

June 2009

Dear Alumnae, Alumni and Friends of Yale:

While you may already know about the wonderful work of the Yale Club of Chicago Foundation, you may not be familiar with me. I have succeeded Richard A. Pinto, '49 as president. Not only did Dick do a wonderful job of bringing the Foundation and its work into the 21st century, he is also in many ways the personal embodiment of selfless leadership that it would be nice to think comes with every Yale degree. He is a hard act to follow.

Last year was a record for the Foundation. We were able to provide support for every one of the 91 Yale students from the Chicago area, with a record $100,100, thanks to the individual gifts we receive in response to letters like these and the absolutely invaluable philanthropy we receive from the Yale Club of Chicago. With tuition and fees totaling $47,500, the support our Foundation supplies, while small as a percentage of the whole, is important. Here is how one recent graduate puts it:

"I just graduated from Yale on Monday, May 25th, and started a two-year program teaching with Inner City Teaching Corps. I will transition as a student in New Haven to a teacher of 7th and 8th graders in Chicago. It was so sad to graduate, I cried all the way home. But my tears were a testament to my incredible years at Yale. I have grown so much since my freshman days in L-W on Old Campus to my senior room in Pierson. While there were many challenging times (especially right before midterms and finals), I would never trade my stress for anything else. I met incredible people and have exciting memories that will last a lifetime. It was all possible because of you and your generous support. For that, I would like to sincerely thank you. You have touched my life." (emphasis mine)

One of the wonderful things about Yale is that it provides its family of alumni and friends many ways to give back, including giving back to the University itself. In the case of this new graduate, your previous giving to the Yale Club of Chicago Foundation not only allowed her to attend Yale; it now also benefits the city to which she has returned. Our city. It is our hope that the 7th and 8th grade students whose lives she will touch will follow her to Yale as well. These are difficult times, but the need is great: we will be matriculating over 100 Yale students from Chicago area this fall.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

 

Roger W. Shepard

President of the Yale Club of Chicago Foundation

 

P.S. Please remember that your reunion class gift can be designated to the Yale Club of Chicago Foundation, thereby tripling the value of your gift!

For a giving form, please click here.