PEC Update, January 24, 2007

This PEC update contains a challenge to all of those who oppose the strategic plan.

Fundraising Challenge:

At the Richmond Summit on January 5th we announced our goal to raise $500,000 by June 30, 2007. In the three weeks since that meeting, PEC has received $39,000 making for a grand total of $209,000 in donations and pledges through January 23rd. We are deeply gratified by the response and want to share the news that so clearly signals the support for our mission.

But now, more than ever before, PEC needs your help. Now is the time to give generously, to contribute a second or third time if you have already given, to make the stretch donation or the leadership pledge that will enable PEC to intensify its legal challenge of the college’s decision to go coed. In order to vigorously pursue all legal remedies, from an appeal of Judge Mosby’s rulings to additional suits in different jurisdictions, PEC needs your help.

We believe that at least $100,000 is necessary to undertake an effective appeal of the dismissal of the Contract and Trust suits and pay current legal commitments. We are challenging ourselves to raise that amount within two weeks, and we ask that you help us achieve that milestone. The funds we raise in the next two weeks will dictate the breadth and expanse of our legal challenge. If you are committed to the preservation of R-MWC as a woman’s college, you need to act now.

We are delighted to report that the IRS has processed our application and officially granted us 501 (c)(3) tax-exempt status. This means that all contributions to PEC from our founding on September 1, 2006 are fully tax-deductible to the amount allowed by law.

Donations may be made using PayPal through our website (http://www.preserveeducationalchoice.org/pledge.aspx) or checks mailed to:

Preserve Educational Choice, Inc.
P.O. Box 29612
Richmond, VA 23242

Take Action Challenge:

We challenge each of you to become more active in the fight to preserve R-MWC.

Join a PEC Committee: Since the January 5th summit we have formalized five working committees: Communications, Fundraising, Legal, Business Plan, and Research. Some committees are open to all interested people while others, by their very nature, have a limited membership. You can learn more about each of the committees and how you can join by reviewing our new "Committees" section at http://www.preserveeducationalchoice.org/committees.htm.

Actively spread the word about opposition to the strategic plan: Direct all of your R-MWC friends to our website so they can become familiar with the issues. Print key documents and letters from the website and send them to your friends who don’t use the Internet.

Make your opposition clearly known: Even if you sent letters and emails in August and September, write the Board of Trustees again. Write and call the college and your favorite faculty. Write the Alumnae Association and respond to their survey by the January 30th deadline. Organize a letter writing campaign with your R-MWC friends, your class, and your Alumnae Association chapter.

This is a critical time for R-MWC. We are losing far more than we are gaining with the change to "Randolph College." Now is the time for each of us to take action, to pledge our money and our time, and to make our voices heard.

Vita abundantior,

PEC Board

Gail Ballou (R-MWC '64)
Carol Curcio Lang (R-MWC '68)
Diane U. Montgomery (R-MWC '85)
Anne Yastremski (R-MWC '05)
Martha McClerkin Durnett (R-MWC '85)

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