€55,000.
If you’ve been following our journey with the ULT Academy for a while, you may have heard this number before. That’s roughly how much we still need to finance the final 25% of the purchase price of our school.
And we’ll admit it: At first, €55,000 isn’t exactly the kind of number that makes you think, “Oh, we’ll definitely have that together by Friday.” 😄
But big numbers can feel a little less intimidating when you see what’s actually behind them. Because we’re not simply raising money for a building. We’re investing in a place where 135 children are already learning, laughing, making friends, and dreaming about their futures.
And that’s exactly why we want to make these final 25% a little more tangible.
We’ve already introduced the opportunity to finance a larger part of our Academy directly. Now we’re taking it one step further and beginning to make special contributions visible directly within our school.
For example, a classroom can be funded with a donation of €10,000. Four supporters have already made exactly that possible.
Four classrooms where children are now reading, doing maths, learning and probably occasionally chatting when they’re actually supposed to be listening. 😄 And hopefully, many more generations of children will do exactly the same after them.
As a thank-you, these classrooms will now receive personal name plaques. The name of a person, a family, a company or an organisation can be displayed on them. Or perhaps the name of someone special whom a person would like to dedicate this place to.
Of course, a small plaque on a wall doesn’t change our children’s everyday school life. But it tells a story about how that room became possible.
Maybe one day, a child will walk past one of these plaques without having any idea who the person behind the name is. And that’s okay.
What matters much more is what happens behind the door. That children are learning, asking questions, making friends and perhaps one day discovering something they are really good at.
The name on the wall simply reminds us that somewhere, someone decided: I want to help make sure this place remains. 💛
Before anyone opens their online banking, looks at their balance and closes this article again: Don’t worry. 😄
Of course, you don’t need to make a five-figure donation to be part of this story.
The final 25 percent will be made up of many different contributions. €20, €200, birthday fundraisers, corporate donations and perhaps even another fully funded classroom or two.
Not every donation will eventually have a plaque hanging next to it. But every single one brings us closer to the same goal.