A Lifelong Gift

By Mary Critikos '54

My sister, Penny, and I had no input into the decision-making that affected our move from P.S. #1 on Hillside Avenue to Harley. My mother asked at dinner one night,"How would you like to go to Babette's school?" My father said simply, "You start tomorrow."

There are three common denominators from then through now: Clover Street, Allens Creek, and the relationship between faculty/staff-parents-students. That last element defines The Harley Family, which is as strong now as it was then. It's the mortar that holds the bricks together.

Legacies come in various forms, and institutional legacies have a particular bent: It's called financial solvency in the first instance and financial security in the last to ensure the School can survive and thrive on solid footing for the next 100 years.

For those of you from the 1950s, especially, we don't have much time to spare! It's up to us to think about those who have held us up and, yes, give back. It's time, now, to act.

I plan to leave a legacy to reflect this aftermath of care and love and, yes, tenderness I felt at Harley. As with all institutions, the moral character and tone begin at the top. The best way I figure to attribute this is to provide a Head of School endowment to attract and retain a Head who embraces The Harley Way—a way of nurturing, kindness, and compassion toward becoming a more perfect human being. I have included a provision in my will toward that end.

Like Mary, you can create a legacy of meaning, care, and love that supports future generations at Harley. To learn more, please contact Karen Saludo at (585) 277-1117 or ksaludo@harleyschool.org.