Cumberlite 2024 Issue 1

Luke Villarruel, ’24,
is videotaped while
sharing a thank you
message to donors
Students
participating in
a gratitude walk
around campus
GCA HOLDS INAUGURAL
GRATITUDE DAY EVENT
BY NANCY GERARD
Your generosity is having an eternal
impact at Georgia-Cumberland Academy!
Right before Thanksgiving home leave, the
GCA school family took time to talk about
the generosity of our friends who love
and support Georgia-Cumberland Academy.
Students do not always make the
connection between donors who give to
GCA and the actual experience they get to
have at GCA. They might not think about
how donor generosity and the support
of the Georgia-Cumberland Conference,
churches, individuals, and businesses
make every aspect of GCA possible.
Gratitude Day, as we called this inaugural
event, began with a special gathering
of the student body and staff to talk
about the impact of generosity on their
GCA experience and to hear from donors
as to why they give. Later that day, the
entire school was engaged in thank-you
note writing, and then divided into small
group activities that focused on gratitude.
One of the small group activities
included a gratitude walk, where groups
visited various parts of campus that
would not exist if it were not for generosity.
Other activities included bagging
up cookies to give as thank-you
gifts, making videos to say thank you,
doing a Bible study on gratitude, and
spending time praying for our donors.
Serge Gariepy, principal, felt that the
day was a success. “Whether or not
students need financial help to be at
GCA, Gratitude Day was an opportunity
for ALL students to better understand the
role generosity plays on this campus. We
feel it is very important that students can
connect the dots between the amazing
experience they have at GCA and the
generosity of our donors. Everyone’s
GCA experience would be very different
if it were not for our very generous
donors, and Gratitude Day gave us the
opportunity to underscore this point.”
Marli Mitchell, ’24, also felt like Gratitude
Day was an important activity for
students. “Gratitude Day is so valuable because
it shows us how important donors
are to our school. Throughout the day, we
learned everything that donations have
done to improve GCA. For me personally,
seeing GCA grow as my siblings have come
and gone, and now as I am about to graduate,
is amazing! The facilities are topnotch
and that’s all thanks to generosity.”
We are grateful to our donors’ generosity
that makes possible the many
life-changing experiences our students
can have at Georgia-Cumberland Academy!
We acknowledge that ultimately every
good and perfect gift comes from God
and thank Him for our many blessings!
Scan this QR code
to view some of our
student messages of
gratitude to our donors.
6 CUMBERLITE ISSUE 1 | 2024