2018 Commencement Speaker and former Trustee Shayna Appel ’78, P’04. “I may not have the biggest stone to throw in the pond, but my gift can make a big ripple at Stoneleigh-Burnham.”

Former Trustee and Pastor Shayna Appel ’78, P’04 strongly believes that giving to a place like SBS is a unique opportunity. “The School just keeps getting better and better,” she says. “Having served on the Board for more than a decade, I have seen the magnificent work being done. I had a great education, and I want to make sure that is available for students in the future. They should continue to have an opportunity to find their voices in a world that treats those who occur as female gender as second class citizens.”

Shayna, an ordained minister living in New Hampshire, knew about the importance of planned giving from serving on the Board of Trustees, yet was too young to think about it at the time. She is now in the process of updating her will to include a bequest for Stoneleigh-Burnham and recently contacted the School for simple language her lawyer can include. “For me it was an easy process,” she says.

“I may not have the biggest stone to throw in the pond, but my gift can make a big ripple. It’s not like giving to a huge university. We’re a small, feisty school. It feels good to be able to make my small gift and know that it will make a difference. Unlike schools that have a huge number of alumnae, Stoneleigh-Burnham has us. We are it. We are family.”

To learn more about ways to give back and make a difference for future Stoneleigh-Burnham students, contact Susan Mattei at 413.774.2711 x247 or development@sbschool.org.