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Upcoming celebration to grow scholarship funds for Catholic schools
By Andrew Junker, ajunker@catholicsun.org
August 21, 2008
Catholic education affects everyone, said MaryBeth Mueller, superintendent of Catholic Schools.
“Whether you have a student in Catholic education, or were a student in Catholic education or even if you never got the opportunity — Catholic schools are good for society,” she said. “We are staunch pillars in the community.”
That’s why it’s in everyone’s interest to make sure Catholic education remains an affordable option. To this end, the diocesan Office of Catholic Schools will be throwing a celebration Nov. 1, dubbed “Night of Hope,” to help grow the diocesan scholarship endowment fund.
The fund has about $4 million in it right now, which yields about $200,000 in tuition assistance a year for Catholic education. Each school can apply for a grant up to $20,000 from the fund.
This can provide much needed help to families who struggle financially by sending their children to Catholic schools.
“A kid that goes to a Catholic school learns service, learns how to be a part of community, learns about God,” said Brigid Skoog, who is helping market the Night of Hope. “These children are the future of our Church, children who are educated about their faith.”
The Night of Hope will celebrate these unique aspects of Catholic education. Organizers hope to have representatives from all the diocese’s schools at the event, which will take place at the Phoenix Convention Center.
There will be a choir of Catholic students singing and a band for attendees to enjoy.
“The first reason we’re having the event is to celebrate Catholic school accomplishment, to celebrate all that we do in educating our students,” Mueller said. “Our Catholic schools are educating children as whole students: physically, spiritually, academically.”
The night will kick off a long-term commitment to growing the endowment, which helps supplement the great financial assistance provided to Catholic schools by both the Catholic Community Foundation and the Catholic Tuition Organization for the Diocese of Phoenix.
And while the CTODP provides a large amount of tuition relief, it relies upon a tax credit offered to Arizonans. That’s why it’s so crucial to grow the fund, so that children from all economic backgrounds can benefit from Catholic education.
“It’s not enough,” said Mueller of the endowment fund’s current amount. “We need to grow it, and that’s not going to happen just in one night or even one year.”
Skoog — who has a daughter at Xavier College Preparatory and a son at St. Theresa School — recognizes that many people do not have the ability to give to charitable causes.
But she still thinks that if organizers can get the word out about the necessity of growing this fund, Catholics — and even non-Catholic supporters of parochial education — will respond.
“We have to get parents behind it, even if not everyone can support the fund financially, just get them to support the effort,” she said. “We really need to get into the cooperative spirit of giving. You’re giving to the Church.”
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