Dawn Treader School Meets The Bolger Foundation’s Challenge

Fall 2022 grant recipient Dawn Treader Christian School (Paterson, NJ) has met The Bolger Foundation’s $125,000 challenge, having raised the required matching amount with several months to spare.

This funding will be used to replace the original tall arched wooden windows in the fourth floor gymnasium of the school’s historic building, the Rosen Mill, which was built in the early 1800s. In addition to Dawn Treader students, the gym is also used by various community sports programs.

 Because it’s located in Paterson’s Great Falls Historic District, the building’s new windows must be historically correct and meet the requirements of the city’s Historic Preservation Commission. Each fourth floor window measures nine feet in height and features a rounded top beneath a segmental brick arch set into the building’s façade.

There are 210 such windows altogether, with a total of 219 windows that ultimately must be replaced. The new windows are energy efficient and made of aluminum, which means they will not require much in the way of ongoing maintenance. Including installation, trim work, and other miscellaneous details, each replacement window costs approximately $4000.

The Bolger Foundation’s challenge grant helps to put the school halfway to their fundraising goal in their quest to replace all 219 windows.

Named for the ship in C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia, Dawn Treader Christian School is currently in its 40th year of educating children in an intercultural setting that helps them develop their unique gifts and talents to become transformative leaders in the community.

Says foundation president JT Bolger, “The Dawn Treader School’s commitment to the community around them is key for those they serve. We are pleased to support Dawn Treader as they make the school more functional with their adaptive reuse of the historic Rosen Mill building.”