The Timothy Christian Schools Foundation was established with the intent to sustain and champion a Christian education for future generations. Since its inception through a bequest from the estate of “Aunt Tena” Huizenga (a friend of Timothy who had dedicated her life as a Christian missionary in Africa) the Foundation has provided a way for others to join in the opportunity to strengthen the future of our school. From its humble beginnings with a gift of $28,000 in 1978, the Foundation today has over $4.5MM in invested assets. Peter Huizenga was the only Chairman of the foundation from 1978 until he went home to be with the Lord in 2018. His successor and the current Chairman is Lee Brandsma.

The foundation board is currently made up of Chairman Lee Brandsma, Paul Buikema, Matt Davidson, Dave DeVries, PJ Huizenga, Rob Petroelje, and Joel Tameling. Additionally the foundation advisory committee is made up of dozens of men and women in the Timothy community—influential leaders, with strong business expertise, and passionate about Timothy. I wouldn’t trade our foundation team with any other school. Personally, I view this group of nearly 40 men and women as guardians of our school.

I view this group of nearly 40 men and women as guardians of our school. 
Matt Davidson

Foundation assets have been used for tuition assistance, curricular and program development, scholarships, and special funds/projects. Gifts to the Foundation (through wills and bequests, gifts of real estate or the sale of business, or charitable trust arrangements) fund not only these immediate needs, but more importantly help to ensure that Christian education remains affordable and that our mission remains sustainable. The Foundation is critical to Timothy’s economy.

The Foundation has gone through some changes recently, including new corporate documents, a renewed purpose, and a goal for increased relevance. Chairman Lee Brandsma has successfully launched this vision. Today all of our assets are invested and managed by CIBC Bank. Moreover, each member makes an annual contribution to the Foundation to create additional funds for new and innovative programs emerging at our school. 

If you would like to learn more about how you can generously support our Foundation or if you would like to have a conversation about estate planning, please reach out to Robert Venhousen venhousen@timothychristian.com. The mission of Timothy Christian Schools is more important than ever before, and the Foundation is a fundamental key to our success in the adventures ahead.

Teachers (or even students) are able to submit semi-annual grant requests and proposals to a small task force for consideration and then recommendations are made to the Timothy Christian Schools Foundation Board for approval. This new grant program has already funded several exciting programs and initiatives here on campus.

Foundation Board: Grants

Title: IFly
Grant Requestor: Mr. Ken Scholma, 5th Grade Science & Social Studies Teacher

The fifth grade team really wanted the kids to have an “experiential” field trip. In my opinion, kids can learn best when they can actually participate in the learning and make connections to real life. When I initially heard about the ifly field trip experience, I was hooked! I just knew I had to find a way to get my kids here! Thankfully, The Foundation made that a possibility and the kids were able to go. Our day consisted of a 45 min STEM presentation by a professional sky-diver who had over 350 jumps! He taught our class about the gravitational pull of the Earth, its atmosphere, and how friction affects the speed at which objects fall. One of the coolest experiences was when they put several random objects in the wind tunnel and the kids had to guess which ones would “float” first based on several variables including, size, weight, and shape. Then, each student was fitted with a flight suit, helmet, and goggles. They taught us the procedures for entering the tunnel and how to position ourselves to maximize our flight experience. Each student then got a one minute flight with an instructor. It doesn’t seem like a long time, but it sure felt like it. Watching the smiles, and hearing the laughter from all the kids and adults made it worth it!

Title: Robot Brain 
Grant Requestor: Tim Wierenga, High School Math Teacher & Robotics Coach 

The Robot Brain is the wireless connection to the controller handled by the driver, and runs the motors and sensors on the robot. The Robotics team programs the brain to run the robot during the autonomous portion of the competition and to interpret the commands sent from the driver. Last year VEX came out with new touch-screen  brains with a different programming language that gave teams more options during the competition and gave them an edge over their competitors using the old brain.

This year the Timothy Robotics program expanded from 8 members on 2 teams to 22 members on 4 teams. The teams attended 7 competitions as compared to 3 competitions last year. This year’s highlight was traveling to downstate Mount Vernon to compete against teams from Illinois and Kentucky. One of our teams finished 2nd, and two of our teams qualified for State at that competition. Though State, Nationals, and the Worlds competitions were cancelled this year, all the current team members are freshmen, sophomores, and juniors, so we hope to qualify next year for State, Nationals, and possibly even Worlds.

Title: Story Time Chess
Grant Requestor: Ben Dragstrem, First Grade Teacher 

Chess club is the biggest club at Timothy with around 80 kids joining every year. To best address the needs of the K-2 students we wanted to implement the Story Time Chess curriculum. Story Time Chess gets kids playing and loving chess through storytelling, starting at the surprising age of 3. This project will meet several goals for our chess club. Learning chess leads to increased test scores, stronger critical thinking skills, an ability to plan ahead, improved executive functions, and so much more.