Time to make a Gift!
Fellow Classmates of the Fabulous BLS Class of 1974!
While the bloom is still on the rose, 50th Reunion Co-Chair Jim Sullivan and I want to publicly thank all of you, our BLS74 Classmates and Guests who attended our 50th Reunion in May and regaled in our collective memories, stories, and smiles!
Also, a thousand thanks to our hard working BLS74 50th Reunion Committee and our BLSA Staff Managers for planning and executing a very fun program for our two days together! Everyone to a person has told us that "Our BLS74 50th REUNION was OUR BEST REUNION EVER!" - and we heartily agree!
Several of you have already answered the call for supporting our BLS74 Classmates and the Students of Latin School by making important pledges and gifts to Latin School for our BLS74 CLASS GIFT - and we are SO GRATEFUL! THANK YOU!
For the rest of you…..WE HAVE SOME HOMEWORK FOR YOU!! - OUR CLASS GIFT IS DUE BY JUNE 30TH, 2024, Please! (Less than TWO WEEKS!)
We have built a variety of options with areas and programs for you to support that you can find in the drop down menu of the “Designation" section of the BLS website Class Gift page.
YOU STILL HAVE TIME to honor your classmates and provide the great kids at Latin School with important opportunities. We would love for you all to consider a generous gift to our BLS74 CLASS GIFT at Boston Latin School by JUNE 30th (the BLSA FISCAL YEAR END) and designate your financial support to several efforts initiated by the following beloved classmates:
i) The Saturday Success School initiated by Chuck Longfield ’74,
ii) The BLS Oral History Project founded by Phil Bonomo ’74 and Guy Marini ’74.
(If you prefer to make a pledge or explore other ways to support Latin School, including tax-smart options or naming a seat in the BLS Assembly Hall, please contact Marybeth Oskowski at the BLSA via oskowski@blsa.org. She’d be happy to talk with you about how you are able to make a meaningful and personal impact on students at BLS.)
I am so proud and thankful to be your Class President, but even more proud to be a member of the Fabulous Boston Latin School Class of 1974!
In Gratitude,
Dan McCarthy ’74
President, The Fabulous BLS Class of 1974
Directed Giving
When making your gift on the BLS website, consider directing it to one of the initiatives undertaken by our classmates:
To do so, select either "Saturday Success School" or "Oral History Project" in the "My Gift Supports" dropdown of the "Designation" section.
You can even invest in a program that was most important to your experience at Latin School (Athletics, Music, Sciences, etc.)!
Saturday Success School (Chuck Longfield)
Saturday Success School seeks to support students in strengthening their academic success through the use of volunteer adult tutors.
This program runs every Saturday for 20 Saturdays during the school year. Students will work one on one or in small groups with an adult tutor for about 40 minutes per session. All tutors are CORI checked and come to us from various sources such as local hospitals, colleges/universities, marketing firms, retired secondary educators, current BLS teachers and BLS alumni.
Program Applications are required as students are taught three subjects of their choice in three different sessions each Saturday for the entire year without changing into other subjects.
This is a focused program, not a drop-in platform. Students must commit to attending this program every Saturday.
Oral History Project (Guy Marini and Phil Bonomo )
Generationes Virtutes - An Oral History of the Boston Latin School
Guy and Phil have been leading the effort to create a permanent Oral History of Alma Mater. Three chapters of this video oral history have been released thus far, featuring graduate interviews from Classes of the ‘40s, ‘50s and ‘60s.
Using a professional film and video company, we ask BLS graduates to share memories and anecdotes about their Latin School experiences, using the school as the backdrop. Historical references abound, displaying the deep meshing of world events with the daily rigors of a classical education. And because the Latin School draws students from every corner of Boston proper, each student must make major adjustments to integrate with a melting pot of neighborhood and ethnic cultures - multiple threads for powerful stories. While the participants are generationally diverse, they also present common threads uniquely found in Latin School graduates.
Chapter 4 is currently in development. Meanwhile, we look forward to the day when BLS74 graduates will be called to tell their own special stories. We hope you will share Guy’s and Phil’s pride in this effort and support The BLS Oral History Project with a directed gift.