UPDATE: The Courtier Foundation will be giving Madison Waldorf School an additional 2:1 match for all fundraising dollars that we raise, which means that a $20 donation from you becomes $60. Thank you for coming alongside us, and thank you to the Courtier Foundation for their generosity!

Last week, I had the joy of accompanying our fourth and fifth graders on the Madison Waldorf’s School annual Lantern Walk.

As the sun set, a touch of apprehension lingered – this was our first Lantern Walk in our new home. In years past, our lanterns glowed beneath the trees of a dark urban forest. But this year, we walked through our school’s own neighborhood where real people, our new neighbors, could see and hear us.

As the children began to sing, their voices lifted in harmony and joy:
“La bimme, la bamma, la boom… glimmer, lantern, glimmer….lantern in the moonlight guide my way!”

Then something magical happened.

People stepped out of their homes to listen. Children flung open doors, calling to their families, “Come see! Something is happening!” Couples stood arm in arm, eyes shining with a wistful light remembering, perhaps, a time when the world felt more connected, more alive.

In that moment, I felt something profound. Waldorf parents, families and teachers are accustomed to this kind of vitality, the light that radiates from children who are seen, nurtured, and inspired with a sense of belonging to each other and the world. But this time, that warmth and light extended beyond our walls and into the world around us.

And I thought: Perhaps, in our new home, we are ready to move out of the forest and into the world to share the light of Waldorf education more widely than ever before.

This is the heart of our mission, to nurture students with intellectual creativity, emotional resilience, and purposeful engagement in their communities. We are giving them the tools to thrive in an ever-changing world.

As we approach the end of the year, we invite you to join us in continuing this mission. Your gift to Madison Waldorf School supports an education that inspires young minds and also the hearts of everyone it touches.

Your generosity ensures that our teachers can continue their transformative work, that our programs remain accessible to all, and that our light continues to shine both within and beyond our school.

All of our Board Members have wholeheartedly committed their participation, and have offered to match up to the first $4,000 we raise.

Our goal is 50 pledges in 50 days.

Please make your year-end gift today and help us carry this light forward into the future.

With heartfelt gratitude,

Emily Burt

President, Board of Trustees

Mother to Cordelia, Juniper, Aurelia, and Cleo

Keeping Our Lantern Aglow

Please join us as we carry warmth and light into our world.