Assets, the only K-12 school in Hawaii specializing in educating children who are gifted, dyslexic, or have other language-based learning differences, announced today that it has received a $1,250,000 donation to support tuition assistance. This marks the largest single donation in the school’s history since opening in 1955.
The $1.25M donation creates The Anne Kirkwood Dick Campbell and H. Benjamin Campbell Scholarship Fund at Assets to annually support financial aid scholarships to students in kindergarten to eighth grade. It was Anne Kirkwood Dick Campbell’s expressed desire to create a scholarship fund to support families in need whose children had language-based learning differences. Her only grandson named the fund after his grandmother and his father, H. Benjamin “Ben” Campbell.
“This generous and historic donation will have a meaningful impact on the lives of our brilliant children and their families for generations,” said Ryan Masa, Head of School. “Many families never expect to fund a private school education that provides an 8 to 1 student-to-teacher ratio and a curriculum that meets their child’s strengths and weaknesses. The Tuition Assistance Fund is our top priority to ensure a child can receive our life-changing Assets education. The entire Assets community is grateful to have the honor of recognizing the legacy of Anne Kirkwood Dick Campbell and H. Benjamin Campbell with this transformative scholarship fund.”
In the 1920s, Anne lived in Hawaii and was a schoolteacher. She moved to Berkeley, California in the 1930s where she taught at the Anna Head School for girls for nearly 50 years before retiring. Teaching the primary grades was her life’s work. H. Benjamin “Ben” Campbell worked for Wells Fargo from 1956 to 1968. During the Vietnam War, from 1968 to 1973, Ben was an Assistant Purser on the SS Monterey, a passenger liner owned by Matson Lines. He finished his career working as a Construction Estimator and was working for Kaiser Foundation Hospitals when he retired.
“The generous donation from the Campbell family is a critical lifeline for families like mine, who are often confronted with the harsh reality that the resources available for children with learning differences are profoundly inadequate,” said Assets parent Chelsie Evans. “Financial aid has been a crucial support for my family, making it possible for both of my daughters. Our household has the gifts of dyslexia, dyscalculia, dysgraphia, and ADHD, all of which require a specific learning environment in order to see thriving results. Without this aid, we would face the unbearable choice of deciding which child could receive the opportunity of a life-changing education. Thanks to donors like the Campbell family, both of my children can thrive in an environment that understands and nurtures their unique learning needs.”
Assets parent Carrie Barringer said, “Our son, Jack, is a third grader at Assets School. The Assets community has not only shared life-changing support for Jack's language-based learning differences but has also gifted him priceless confidence in who he is as an individual. As parents to five boys, we could not provide Jack with an Assets education without the generous assistance of supporters like those who helped create The Anne Kirkwood Dick Campbell and H. Benjamin Campbell Scholarship Fund. With grateful hearts, we thank them for the difference they make for children and families like ours!”
“We will ensure The Anne Kirkwood Dick Campbell and H. Benjamin Campbell scholarship recipients are aware of the outstanding accomplishments and service Anne and Ben performed during their remarkable lifetime,” said Linda Jameson Myers, Vice President of Institutional Advancement. “The desire to create these scholarships is a testament to their character, generosity, and commitment to helping children with learning differences.”