Culture

Supporting Catholic schools is responding to an invitation to be part of something extraordinary.

Michael
Reardon

''Don't you hate asking for money?" This is a question people often ask me when they learn that every July 1, the Catholic Schools Foundation (CSF) is required to raise another $15 million to meet its commitment to the one in eight students who rely on their CSF Scholarship to access the life-changing opportunity of a Catholic education.
The truth is, I hardly ever ask for money. Instead, I invite people to participate in the lives of students and families. I share with them the facts: children in Catholic schools, especially children from challenged backgrounds, continually score higher on standardized tests, have higher graduation rates and are more likely to attend college than their public school peers. I share the fact that about 50 students in the Catholic schools in Boston experience homelessness. They have no steady place to sleep, meals are somewhat uncertain, and yet, they have a place each day that provides stability, hope, and opportunity.
I share with them the story of St. Patrick School in Lowell and Lawrence Catholic Academy, two schools that serve as beacons of hope in economically disadvantaged neighborhoods, anchors of hope that continue transforming lives as they have for generations.

Yes, there is a cost to providing this opportunity, and it requires asking people to participate, but this is not a transaction. This is an invitation to make an investment in hope, an investment in the future and directly impact a student, family and community.
Years ago, the legendary Boston philanthropist Jack Connors said it used to bother him that people did not contribute financially to charitable organizations. This was until he realized this lack of generosity should not upset him. Instead, he should feel sorry for those people who were missing out. They were missing out on an opportunity to be part of something extraordinary, and it was their loss.
Supporting Catholic schools is responding to an invitation to be part of something extraordinary. Each day, one in eight students in Catholic schools are there because of the generosity of others -- lay women and men stepping forward on the shoulders of the sisters, brothers and priests, who are the foundation of Catholic education, animating the work to which these amazing religious and priests committed their lives.
The most extraordinary thing about Catholic schools is not their superior test scores. The most extraordinary thing about Catholic schools is that every child understands they are known and loved by God. Each student understands they have worth, dignity, and potential. As one parent recently told me about the scholarship their child received, "It means a lot for me and my family. We can sleep better, we can eat better, and we can be grateful. I wouldn't trade it for nothing."
Parents and guardians know that a Catholic education will make a difference, and they put their child first to make this education possible. One CSF scholarship recently described her mother as "sacrificing her dreams to make mine possible."
These families make sacrifices just as families have for generations to give their children a better opportunity. The difference today is that Catholic schools are no longer subsidized by the sisters, brothers and priests. Today, others are required to respond to the invitation to change lives, and the Catholic Schools Foundation gives people the opportunity to be part of this extraordinary work.
Catholic schools change lives, and it is a privilege to invite others to participate.

- Michael B. Reardon is executive director of the Catholic Schools Foundation, www.CSFBoston.org.

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