Recognizing the increasing demands from incoming Williams-Mystic students for scholarship aid, in the early 1990s Williams-Mystic alumni established the Benjamin W. Labaree Scholarship Endowment, named after Williams-Mystic's founding director. The Endowment has grown through gifts made to the Annual Fund from anniversary classes, monies raised during the annual scholarship benefit auction held at Alumni Weekend and very generous special gifts made through the Building the Scholar Ship drive launched by Rob Leary F81 in 1999. In 2005, the Endowment stands just under a half million dollars, and provides more than the equivalent of one full tuition each year. As financial aid need among Williams-Mystic students increases—more than 60 percent of Williams-Mystic students are on aid—our goal is to raise the Endowment to one million dollars. If you are interested in making a special gift to the Labaree Scholarship Endowment, please contact Alumni Relations at 860-572-5359 x1 or alumni@mysticseaport.org.