Thank-You Cards Pile Up with Nowhere to Go After School District Receives Anonymous ‘Transformative’ Donation

February 10, 2025 journo

As the hours ticked by, superintendent Joseph Hattrick was flummoxed by the sheer number of cards and papers lined with cut-out hearts and birds, colored all over with heartfelt messages.

Hundreds began to pile up in his office—all saying the same thing: “Thank you, (whoever you are).”

The Ashland Schools Foundation was recently shocked when they were asked to oversee an $890,000 donation from an anonymous benefactor on behalf of Ashland School District in Oregon.

The foundation works through fundraising to provide schools with enriching programs, events, and activities, but the district itself faces a financial crisis and mid-year staffing shortages beyond the nonprofit’s ability to address.

$850,000 of the donation is thusly going towards the district budget and $40,000 is going towards student affinity groups which help foster a sense of belonging for all students.

“This extraordinary act of generosity demonstrates the profound impact that community members can have on public education,” said Erica Thompson, executive director of the Ashland Schools Foundation.

“The donor was moved to action after reading about our district’s challenges in Ashland.News and recognized our Foundation as a trusted partner to facilitate their support while maintaining anonymity.”

Students of all ages across the district have written hundreds of heartfelt thank you cards to express their appreciation to the anonymous donor, with more continuing to arrive daily.

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“Collecting the thank you cards was incredibly heart-warming,” said Hattrick in a statement. “Students expressed to me that they were amazed by how generous this donor was, and that they want to do nice things for other people just like the donor did.”

“I have heard stories from classroom teachers and community members of random acts of kindness they have witnessed as a result of the example this donor has made. I would love to see random acts of kindness spread through our community that can be attributed to what started here.”

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