Pearson Challenge nearly answered

Bethany College has received $100,000 for the Pearson Chapel and Welcome Center.

Bethany alumnus and current board member Sid Stolz ’83 has pledged $50,000 to the new chapel. The pledge, noted Stolz, “is a continuation of my faith and belief that Bethany College is a special place with its best years ahead. It’s also a chance to give back to an institution that so greatly enhanced my life.” The pledge is in addition to a gift of five distinctive pieces of sculpture to be featured for meditation. Previously, Stolz made major financial gifts in support of the recently completed Campus Green beautification project.

Also pledging $50,000 to the Pearson Chapel and Welcome Center are descendants of the Peter Nelson and Ed Sahlin families, Swedish immigrants who passed on to their children and grandchildren a commitment to faith, service and learning. “We are excited and honored to be a part of the Pearson Challenge for the Pearson Chapel and Welcome Center. The construction of this center is a tremendous way to celebrate what Bethany is all about,” said Bethany College Board Member Nelson Newcomer ’65, a descendant of the Nelson and Sahlin families.

These two gifts will support the new building to be located at the heart of campus. The Pearson Chapel and Welcome Center will be a hospitable place for all who worship, visit, learn and work in the Bethany Community.

“These gifts symbolize the importance of the new chapel and welcome center to friends and alumni of Bethany College. We are pleased that Sid and the families of Peter Nelson and Ed Sahlin have chosen to support this project that is so central to the mission and values of Bethany College,” said Bethany College President Edward F. Leonard III.

Bethany has raised more than $940,000 towards the Pearson Challenge, a $1 million challenge grant from the late Gerald “Bud” Pearson, to be met by June 2010. The total project cost is $3.5 million.