By Mary Ellen Mahoney
The Catholic Foundation celebrated its 19th year of giving on June 20th during its Annual Awards Dinner held at the Holiday Inn, Norwich. The dinner was attended by the largest number of families, students and ministry representatives to date and tuition assistance, amounting to $117,890 was distributed to the largest number ever, a whopping 281 elementary students! In addition, another $15,805 was distributed among the four diocesan secondary schools. A total of $117,647 in grant money was distributed to beneficiaries of the foundation’s restricted endowments and an additional $51,465 in funds was distributed among a variety of diocesan ministries that serve those in need regardless of religious affiliation, such as Catholic Charities, St. Vincent de Paul, Middletown and St. Vincent de Paul Place, Norwich. All in all, a total of $302,807 was distributed to local Catholic school students, schools, parishes and ministries, from all four counties comprising the diocese – Middlesex, New London, Tolland and Windham.
Bishop Cote, chairman of the Catholic Foundation, distributed the monies and thanked all the parents “who have made a Catholic education a priority in their family and live as Christian role models for their children every day.” Mary Ellen Mahoney, Executive Director of The Catholic Foundation, thanked the Board members who work hard to ensure that as many people as possible are helped by the Foundation. She also recognized the generous donors to the Foundation who were in attendance, as well as noting the Foundation’s growth in the last year, “Adding four new endowments geared towards assisting those in our communities whether it be in the form of tuition assistance, or support to Catholic Charities or St. Vincent de Paul Place is such a testament to the love that our parishioners have for those in need. We are very, very thankful for our donors and hope that more people will consider establishing an endowment with the Catholic Foundation to benefit one of our Diocesan organizations.” The four new endowments added this year are The Reverend Richard Archambault Endowment, The Maria and Edward Hargus Family Endowment, The Roach Family Endowment, and The Sacred Heart Church Education Endowment.
Many families expressed great gratitude for receiving help with their children’s tuition. One mom of three who shall remain anonymous said, “Every year we don’t know if we can make it through another year sending the kids to Catholic school, as much as we know it is the best thing for them. Thanks to the Catholic Foundation, we have been able to keep our children enrolled in a school they love to attend.”
Mr. John Boland, a retiring member of the Board was honored by Bishop Cote and received a clock in appreciation for his 9 years of service. When speaking about Mr. Boland, Bishop Cote remarked that he “greatly appreciated John’s devotion to the students of our Diocese. Through your commitment and hard work, you have helped many families send their children to our schools.”
The Catholic Foundation of the Diocese of Norwich is a nonprofit corporation, established to provide endowments for the Diocese of Norwich and its parishes, schools, agencies and organizations. The foundation encourages Catholics to be good stewards through gifts of assets, provides for the investment of those assets and distributes the income according to the Gospel and the wishes of the donors. Endowments through the Foundation are a means to greater financial stability and growth for our Diocese and its entities. Since its inception, the Catholic Foundation has awarded nearly $4.5 million dollars in grant and scholarship assistance within the Diocese.
The Catholic Foundation is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors which includes Most Reverend Michael R. Cote, D.D., Reverend Monsignor Leszek T. Janik, J.C.L.,V.G., Reverend Peter Langevin, S.T.B., Ph. L., John Boland, Daniel Adams, Jean Barrasso, Anne Ogden, Mother Mary David Riquier, Tom Kasprzak, Tara Whitehead, Todd Postler and Angela V. Arnold.
For more information about establishing an endowment or donating to an existing one, please contact Mary Ellen Mahoney at 860-886-1928 ext. 13, or e-mail memahoney@norwichdiocese.net for further information.
To see a gallery of photos from the grant awards, including recipients, click here or on any of the photos.
