Last September, Gail and Ralph Reynolds P’18 were as new to the Yard as their son Jackson was. However, within days of freshman orientation, they found themselves a part of the Harvard community too.
“We got a call from the Parents Fund asking how his experience was so far,” says Gail. “This outreach made us feel so welcome, and it made us want to get involved. We dove right in.”
The Reynolds feel like such a part of Harvard that they return to Cambridge frequently—to watch Jackson row as part of the crew team or to participate in Parents Fund activities as regional vice chairs. “We feel like we’re attending Harvard along with our son,” says Gail.
The couple, who are from Darien, Connecticut, are generous donors and have made several gifts to Friends of Harvard-Radcliffe Rowing and to the Dean’s Leadership Fund, which gives Harvard leaders the flexible resources to pursue new opportunities and support student programs.
“It’s our way of giving back to a place that is educating our children and for us to say thank you,” says Gail.
For Ralph, being in the Stadium for the Harvard-Yale football game was one of the highlights of his first year as a Harvard parent. Gail enjoyed hearing from faculty at Assembly, Harvard’s annual fall kickoff for volunteer fundraisers. “It’s amazing our kids have access to those professors,” she says. “They are all leaders and experts in their own fields.”
“I’ve been so impressed with the campus, professors, and the teaching,” says Ralph, founder of Bienville Capital Management. “The kids are unbelievably impressive, and Harvard has exceeded our expectations.”
These parents of four volunteer often to share that strong sense of community with others. The Reynolds recently hosted an event at their summer home in Mobile, Alabama, to help the parents of incoming students get to know other Harvard families and become better acquainted with the College.
The Reynolds are also motivated by the impact their contribution has on life at the College. They are members of the Harvard Yard Society, a group of donors who provide resources to sustain innovation and excellence at the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Gifts like theirs help fund inventive curricula, like Harvard College’s Program in General Education and freshman seminar programs, and help support student experiences in the Houses and in the classroom.
Says Ralph, “We like that these immediate-use funds support housing and activities on campus that enrich the student experience. It is important to us that our gifts directly benefit students while they are at Harvard.”