Kirby Dobbs ’82 and Glenn Floyd Inspire Meaningful Service With Generous Gift
Hutchison Serves: Connecting Learning with Serving
Dr. Annette C. Smith welcomed Kirby Dobbs Floyd, Glenn Floyd, and their daughter, Haley, to the campus to announce their gift to fund the Hutchison Serves program.
Kirby Dobbs Floyd and Glenn Floyd are no strangers to philanthropy, but for their recent gift to Hutchison, they found inspiration close to home: their resilient young daughter, Haley.
“When Haley was two-and-a-half years old, she had cancer,” said Kirby Dobbs Floyd, a class of 1982 Hutchison alumna. She was recounting her young daughter’s bout with cancer at a recent convocation for middle and upper school girls. “Haley’s time at St. Jude left her with an extraordinary desire to give back to others. One day shortly after her treatment was over, she came bounding in and she said, ‘Mom, Dad, can we make cookies today?’ Then she said, ‘Wait, I have another idea! Can we take those cookies to the end of our street, sell them at the gate, give the money back to St. Jude and help other kids?’ My husband and I looked at each other and we said: ‘Let’s go bake some cookies!’” said Dobbs Floyd.
The Floyds recently endowed a new program called Hutchison Serves. While Hutchison has a long tradition of encouraging girls to take on service in the community, Hutchison Serves will further connect classroom curriculum with real world issues. Inspired by their daughter’s example, the Floyds wanted to introduce and foster the ideas of empathy and service at a young age. The program will be made available to girls in all grade levels, from Early Childhood to Upper School.
Dr. Annette C. Smith welcomed Kirby Dobbs Floyd, Glenn Floyd, and their daughter, Haley, to the campus to announce their gift to fund the Hutchison Serves program.
Kirby Dobbs Floyd and Glenn Floyd are no strangers to philanthropy, but for their recent gift to Hutchison, they found inspiration close to home: their resilient young daughter, Haley.
“When Haley was two-and-a-half years old, she had cancer,” said Kirby Dobbs Floyd, a class of 1982 Hutchison alumna. She was recounting her young daughter’s bout with cancer at a recent convocation for middle and upper school girls. “Haley’s time at St. Jude left her with an extraordinary desire to give back to others. One day shortly after her treatment was over, she came bounding in and she said, ‘Mom, Dad, can we make cookies today?’ Then she said, ‘Wait, I have another idea! Can we take those cookies to the end of our street, sell them at the gate, give the money back to St. Jude and help other kids?’ My husband and I looked at each other and we said: ‘Let’s go bake some cookies!’” said Dobbs Floyd.
The Floyds recently endowed a new program called Hutchison Serves. While Hutchison has a long tradition of encouraging girls to take on service in the community, Hutchison Serves will further connect classroom curriculum with real world issues. Inspired by their daughter’s example, the Floyds wanted to introduce and foster the ideas of empathy and service at a young age. The program will be made available to girls in all grade levels, from Early Childhood to Upper School.
While addressing the girls during convocation, the Floyds spoke eloquently about how service to others can lead to a richer, more meaningful life. Their vision for Hutchison Serves is that the girls’ ideas be the fuel for the program, which is all about taking action. Like the Floyds, Hutchison believes that when given the opportunity to explore one’s individual passions there is no limit to what a young woman can do to impact the world.
“One of the hallmarks of a Hutchison girl is a genuine interest in giving back to the community and having a meaningful impact on others,” said Dr. Annette C. Smith, head of school. “We believe it’s never too early to instill the spirit of service, and we are fortunate to have an alumna and her husband who see the value of service.”
The Floyd gift provides the resources to significantly expand on the service work that Hutchison girls already do. Hutchison Serves will be guided by Rachel Frank as full-time director. Frank has expertise in service and leadership, and will work closely with grade-level teachers and students to incorporate service learning projects into the curriculum. “Students will discover that the concepts and ideas they are discussing in the classroom, whether in their history, science, or English classes, have relationships to issues in the real world, Frank said. “How they apply their knowledge toward service work and take action will be the crux of the program.”
Young people come up with the very best ideas,” Dobbs Floyd told the Hutchison girls. “You seem to have the God-given desire to help others, and the creativity and energy to make these ideas happen. Through Hutchison Serves, we want every great idea for serving others that you can imagine. By participating, you’ll learn leadership skills, business skills, and how to be a servant leader all in one program. These are life skills that will serve you all of your days on earth.”
Glenn Floyd added: “When you get older and look back on your life, your proudest accomplishments are going to be how you served others and the relationships you formed.”
"The most fulfilling things that I have ever done have come out of what I’ve given to help others,” Dobbs Floyd told the girls.
"You’ll learn leadership skills, business skills, and how to be a servant leader all in one program. These are life skills that will serve you all of your days on earth.” Alumna Kirby Dobbs Floyd ’82, describing Hutchison Serves at recent convocation.
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“One of the hallmarks of a Hutchison girl is a genuine interest in giving back to the community and having a meaningful impact on others,” said Dr. Annette C. Smith, head of school. “We believe it’s never too early to instill the spirit of service, and we are fortunate to have an alumna and her husband who see the value of service.”
The Floyd gift provides the resources to significantly expand on the service work that Hutchison girls already do. Hutchison Serves will be guided by Rachel Frank as full-time director. Frank has expertise in service and leadership, and will work closely with grade-level teachers and students to incorporate service learning projects into the curriculum. “Students will discover that the concepts and ideas they are discussing in the classroom, whether in their history, science, or English classes, have relationships to issues in the real world, Frank said. “How they apply their knowledge toward service work and take action will be the crux of the program.”
Young people come up with the very best ideas,” Dobbs Floyd told the Hutchison girls. “You seem to have the God-given desire to help others, and the creativity and energy to make these ideas happen. Through Hutchison Serves, we want every great idea for serving others that you can imagine. By participating, you’ll learn leadership skills, business skills, and how to be a servant leader all in one program. These are life skills that will serve you all of your days on earth.”
Glenn Floyd added: “When you get older and look back on your life, your proudest accomplishments are going to be how you served others and the relationships you formed.”
"The most fulfilling things that I have ever done have come out of what I’ve given to help others,” Dobbs Floyd told the girls.
"You’ll learn leadership skills, business skills, and how to be a servant leader all in one program. These are life skills that will serve you all of your days on earth.” Alumna Kirby Dobbs Floyd ’82, describing Hutchison Serves at recent convocation.
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Hutchison is the leading private girls school in Memphis for ages 2 years old through twelfth grade.
