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Why I Give

A single teacher can have a profound impact on a student. For Richard Sager ’70, Dan Bowden was that teacher. “He was probably the single best teacher I had from elementary through graduate school,” Sager reflected. 

Sager almost didn’t end up at Ransom School. A teacher’s strike at his public school finally convinced his parents to give in to his pleas to attend Ransom.
Once enrolled, he began connecting with his teachers, fellow students and teammates on the varsity tennis team. He attributes his becoming a more well-rounded individual to the experience he had on the tennis courts and in the classroom. “I have always credited Ransom Everglades,” he said, “for giving me the tools to learn and to think.” 

Sager has taken the lessons he learned at Ransom and applied them throughout his life to lift up others and give back. After earning a bachelor’s degree in economics at Swarthmore and an MBA and MS at Stanford University, he found success in the fields of real estate and art; he is an accomplished sculptor and oil painter and, with his sister, currently owns real estate companies in California and Florida. 

Throughout his career, he has shown particular dedication to providing access and opportunity to marginalized students, especially those in the LGBTQ community. “I grew up when coming out as LGBTQ was next to impossible,” he said. He hopes his work will help others thrive and feel a sense of belonging. Sager has held leadership roles in multiple LGBTQ non-profits, HIV-related non-profits and, most recently, as board chair of A Reason to Survive (ARTS), a non-profit that helps youth through art programming. In addition to his time as a volunteer, Sager has contributed philanthropically to causes and institutions near and dear to him. 

Sager first chose to give back to Ransom Everglades as a loyal contributor to The Fund for RE, the school’s annual fund. More recently, he established a bequest gift in support of the Dan Leslie Bowden Endowment in the Humanities, which offers advanced summer study opportunities to rising seniors. 

“As someone who believes in 1) giving back and 2) supporting institutions that I think do a great job in teaching us to be good people and to do so by helping solve the problems facing us all,” he said, “how could I not include RE in my giving?”

For more information about how to support Ransom Everglades today or in the future, please contact Director of Advancement Melanie Hoffmann at 305 460 8820 or mhoffmann@ransomeverglades.org.
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Founded in 1903, Ransom Everglades School is a coeducational, college preparatory day school for grades 6 - 12 located on two campuses in Coconut Grove, Florida. Ransom Everglades School produces graduates who "believe that they are in the world not so much for what they can get out of it as for what they can put into it." The school provides rigorous college preparation that promotes the student's sense of identity, community, personal integrity and values for a productive and satisfying life, and prepares the student to lead and to contribute to society.