Partners to the Future
“It’s exciting for me to see the results on campus,” says Dr. Richard Merkin, sounding like a proud father talking about children who are achieving at school. And, in one sense, he is. The students he is referring to are enrolled in the middle school that bears his name. Thanks to his generous naming gift, the first middle school of the Alliance became Richard Merkin Middle School in 2006.
Dr. Merkin calls it “a good investment for the future of America. One of our greatest resources is the education of young people before they reach high school age. I chose to support the middle school so that we can excite children about education before negative high school patterns might intrude,” he explains.
Richard Merkin Middle School is one of five Alliance schools that are the recipients of naming gifts. Gertz-Ressler High School reflects the generosity of husband and wife Tony Ressler, an active Alliance Board member and actress Jami Gertz who chose to sponsor the school as a way to bring quality education for students living in disadvantaged areas. Marc and Eva Stern Math and Science School is named for the Sterns who donated a lead gift after hearing about the mission of the school from its principal Derrick Chau. College-Ready High School #6 will be named by former LA Mayor Richard Riordan, currently Chair of the Alliance Board, in recognition of his lead gift. He has placed education opportunity at the top of his public service agenda for decades. Jack H. Skirball Middle School was named for the late Jack Skirball, philanthropist, rabbi, and movie producer in recognition of a naming gift made by the Skirball Foundation, which supports a wide-range of cultural, educational, and health care causes across the United States.
Jennifer Drake, Alliance’s Chief Development Officer, welcomes anyone interested in learning more about naming opportunities currently available for five Alliance Schools. “Our current benefactors have become a special part of each school’s life. It’s a lifetime legacy,” she says.