Our History in Brief

In 1984, then Superintendent Dr. Richard Boyd gathered together alumni, staff, and friends of the Lakewood City Schools to discern ways to engage the larger community in advancing the mission of the schools. Dr. Boyd foresaw the financial challenges public schools would face and recognized the need to begin to develop some private sources of funding. Out of that meeting were formed two separate organizations: the Lakewood Alumni Association and the Lakewood Public Schools Foundation. The Alumni Association focused on developing an alumni relations program, assisting with class reunion planning, and forming our Halls of Fame program. The Foundation was a 501(c)(3) non-profit which raised funds to award loans to college bound graduates.
Over the course of the following ten years, contacts made through the Alumni Association were interested in making major gifts through that organization but it was not organized to accept such gifts. At the same time, the Foundation was having limited success in raising funds. In 1994, these two organizations were merged to form the Lakewood Public Schools Alumni Foundation. In 2007, the organization was renamed the Lakewood Alumni Foundation.
The Lakewood Alumni Foundation is governed by a 15-member, volunteer board of trustees who are alumni of Lakewood High School. The Lakewood Alumni Foundation is staffed by a part-time executive director and part-time administrative assistant.
A Snapshot of our Financial Picture
As of the end of August 2008, the Lakewood Alumni Foundation held just shy of $1.7 million in assets. These funds are divided between a General Fund and Restricted Endowment Funds. General Funds are unrestricted and the income from these funds are used to meet the expenses of the Alumni Foundation office (database management, website, office & meeting expenses, accounting services, wages, etc.) and to make contributions to the district for needs not met through restricted funds.
The Restricted Endowment Funds total approximately $1.1 million among 38 separate funds. The lion’s share of these endowments was established to award scholarships to graduating seniors to assist these students with the expenses associated with attending college. While many students use this money toward tuition, some have used their award to purchase textbooks or personal computers (a required purchase by most higher education institutions). Other restricted endowments provide funds that support our music department, halls of fame, and special department awards.
Endowed Funds have been established in memory of staff members or students, in honor of and by a graduating class, or by individuals and families. The Foundation works with the individual(s) or organizations establishing these endowed funds to create a list of criteria that delineates the intention of the fund. We try to strike a careful balance between criteria that offer the greatest flexibility in dispersing the funds while holding true to the intention of the gift maker.
The Lakewood Alumni Foundation in Action!
Scholarship: In 2009 we awarded $40,000 to graduating seniors. This represents interest on gifts we’ve received that have endowed specific scholarship funds. Some of these honor individuals; others were established by graduating classes.
Grants: Through a generous bequest from the estate of LHS social studies teacher Miss Margaret Warner, we annually award approximately $8,000 to our teaching staff district-wide for projects which support the curriculum.
Capital Improvements: Support to the school district has included updating the East Gym/L-Room lobby ceiling and lighting; scoreboards at the 2 new middle school athletic facilities, the electronic message board at LHS/Lakewood Civic Auditorium, and enhancements to the scoreboard at Lakewood Stadium.
Halls of Fame: We sponsor three Halls of Fame honoring Distinguished Alumni, Student Athletes, and Outstanding Staff Members. The Halls of Fame inductees are honored in a single ceremony in the last quarter of the year.
Alumni Relations: We support class reunion committees by maintaining an alumni database, providing an initial ‘save-the-date’ mailing announcing a class reunion,
giving tours of the high school and school district on reunion weekends, etc. We keep alumni informed through both print and electronic media.

A Class Reunion |
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Class reunion groups enjoy tours of the Lakewood High School campus. |
You Can Make A Difference!
The work of the Lakewood Alumni Foundation is possible because of the generosity of alumni, staff members, and friends of the Lakewood City Schools. Why do people give? George Read ’44 has given more than $500,000 to the Foundation to support the school district’s music programs. When Executive Director Teresa Andreani first met Mr. Read in January 2003, she asked why, when there were so many worthwhile causes, he put his money into the Foundation. He said, “I know that when I make a gift to the Lakewood Alumni Foundation, it has a direct and immediate impact on a student. Besides, every great thing that happened in my life is because of someone who helped me when I was growing up in Lakewood, or because of an experience I had in the Lakewood Schools.” Not a bad testimonial!
By adopting an investment policy that is sufficiently conservative to protect our assets while providing some opportunities for growth in the market, the Lakewood Alumni Foundation board of trustees has made it possible for us to weather the recent volatility of the market and remain strong. You can be assured that your gift of cash or securities will make a difference!
Lakewood Legacy Society
Thousands of donors have given to the Lakewood Alumni Foundation over the years in memory of classmates, in recognition of special Lakewood City Schools teachers, and as collective contributions at class reunions. Major donations have been made through the estates of Lakewood teachers Margaret Warner and Norm & Ruth Cherington Brown, and alumnus Donald Hamister, charter members of the Lakewood Legacy Society.
The Lakewood Legacy Society recognizes donors who have indicated the Lakewood Alumni Foundation as a beneficiary of a bequest, creating a legacy that benefits students of the Lakewood City Schools. While unrestricted gifts offer the Foundation the greatest flexibility, gifts may also be designated for a specific purpose, as an addition to an existing endowment fund, or to establish a new named endowment.
Designing your gift means finding the right type of gift to provide tax relief to you as the donor or to your estate. We encourage you to meet with an estate planning attorney to include a bequest to the Lakewood Alumni Foundation in your will. We are ready to assist and will work with your advisor, offering sample language or providing specific information on endowments or other programs worthy of your support.
If you’ve already named the Foundation as a beneficiary of your estate, or if you’d like more information on planned giving, designating a bequest to the Foundation or to talk about the parameters of endowing a named fund, contact Teresa Coyne Andreani ’82, Executive Director, at 216.529.4033.
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Members of the Lakewood Project, the high school’s rock orchestra,
traveled to Dallas to participate in a national music teachers conference.
Here, members pose with George Read ’44 and his wife Phyllis prior to attending
the symphony.
Mr. & Mrs. Read have been generous donors to our music program. |
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Educator of the Year Terry Walker engages his
Military History class in an historical reenactment. |
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