Thank you for supporting #TimothyGivingDay! We are humbled by the generosity of our community. Every gift helps to keep Christ-centered education affordable for all our families and provides additional assistance to those who need it.

In just 24 hours, we received over $210,000 from 529 generous donors. Thanks be to God! 

One of our amazing families, the Kooimas, are a great example of why #TimothyGivingDay is so important. “When I re-enrolled all four kids,” Katie says, “I lost my breath at the final tuition amount.” 

The Timothy Fund was designed to bridge the gap between tuition and what it actually costs to educate each child. Plus it offers tuition assistance to families who need additional help to offset the cost of tuition. 

Katie, who owns her own photography business, and her husband Dan, a [fantastic] diesel mechanic, made the decision to send their children to Timothy when their oldest, now in 7th grade, was in preschool. Both attended Timothy and knew the eternal value of a Christ-centered education. While things were tight, they were able to manage tuition payments until all four of their children were in school full time. Katie picked up odd jobs — like babysitting — to make ends meet. 

“Timothy is so important to give my kids a foundation for their faith,” Katie explains. “We made adjustments in our spending habits to afford Timothy.” 

But the financial burden of tuition for all four kids was too much. “We simply cannot afford to send all four of our kids to Timothy,” Katie says. This is true of many other families. “So it’s amazing that this community comes together to help families like mine afford a Christ-centered education.” 

Even with the additional help of The Timothy Fund, the Kooimas are financially stretched. But according to Katie — it’s worth it. “Being at a Christian school in a Christian environment with Christian friends and Christian teachers and all having the same values in life,” Katie says, “outweighs anything that you could buy.” 

While the Kooimas can’t make a financial contribution to The Timothy Fund right now, they have found ways to give back to the community that they love so much. Katie volunteers as much as she can—you’ll find her outside in all sorts of weather as a recess monitor. 

In the fall, the Project IMPACT Phase 3 Task Force, which is led by Director of Advancement Bob Venhousen, pitched the idea of a Christmas Mini-Photo Shoot as a fundraiser. Katie was asked what she would charge to photograph families all day. The thought of the task force was that Katie would charge for her time and expertise and then the remaining proceeds would go to the capital campaign.

Katie was excited to be part of the fundraiser, but refused any payment for herself. “There was no way I would allow Timothy to pay me to do something,” Katie says. “The main reason why my kids are even at Timothy right now is because of the Timothy Fund. I cannot give financially, but I can give my time.” 

The photo shoot was a big success and all proceeds went directly to the school’s Project IMPACT Capital Campaign. It was so popular, Katie did a “Mom and Me” spring photo session—all proceeds again going to Project IMPACT Phase 3. Katie has been blessed by The Timothy Fund, but, in return, Timothy Christian Schools has also been blessed by Katie with her time and talents. Our school is better and stronger with the Kooima family.