Time to Get Dunked!

If you have been on campus in the afternoons this week, you may have seen a crowd forming near the basketball court. At the center of this crowd is a staff member who is the focus of the attention. The crowd seems hungry and excited to see this poor man or woman face a tank full of cold water. There is no sympathy or compassion for the staff member, and cheers of delight roar out when a student finds the mark with the tennis ball and the staff member falls into the water. What you have just witnessed is not some form of punishment, or evil torture by the masses of our school, but instead it is the yearly dunk tank that is a fun part of Dalat School’s Annual Fund.

Dalat School has been doing what we call the “Annual Fund” for 8 years and during that time close to one million ringgit has been donated to help improve our school. The Annual Fund makes it possible for us to make specific, definitive, and immediate changes and improvements for our kids. Through the Annual Fund, we have renovated the student center, library, and cafeteria, purchased new equipment for every department, started new programs, and improved every division in some way. If I were to list all that has been done through the Annual Fund over the last eight years, you would be amazed and impressed, but it would also make this a very long article.

What I love about the Annual Fund is that it is an event that not only creates a better educational experience for our kids, but also helps unite us as a community. Through the giving of hundreds of people each year, Dalat is able to do new and exciting things for our students that otherwise would not be possible, or would have to wait until the funding is available. This is a group effort and shows the generosity of community and the heart and passion we have for our school.

If you have given already to this year’s Annual Fund, I want to thank you personally, and if you haven’t and are able to, please consider doing so soon as it will end on November 14th. If you happen to be around next Friday after school and see a big crowd forming, come on over and join in. Don’t hesitate to yell out a cheer as I fall into the cold water as the tennis ball finally finds its mark.