Catholic school students and their families will be the projected winners in the South Jersey Scholarship Fund’s Spring Sprint for Scholarships.
This annual fundraising appeal was initiated by the fund’s Board of Trustees in 2021 to help meet the need for tuition assistance throughout the Diocese. The year’s campaign launches May 2 with a goal of $50,000.
“We were thrilled with the response to last year’s campaign, which surpassed our target and enabled us to help more than 90 students during the 2021-22 school year. Donations also allowed us to build a nice base for supporting families in the upcoming year. We need to keep the momentum going with this year’s appeal,” said Christine Messina, Board of Trustees member. “This is critical because many families are having a difficult time making ends meet due to unanticipated medical bills, unemployment or under employment, rising inflation and more.”
The families are truly grateful for the support, said Carol Spina, principal in Our Lady Star of the Sea Regional School, Atlantic City. “I’ve had parents stop by the office with tears in their eyes to tell me they wouldn’t have been able to keep their children in our school without the scholarship assistance. For some, attending our school is a family tradition throughout the generations. They smile and tell us that it means so much to their families to be part of our community, which reinforces their faith and values.”
Supporting families in need was the goal of the SJSF upon its inception in 2001. The fund was set up under 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. It is separate from the Diocese and managed by an independent Board of Trustees. Every dollar in the fund directly supports student scholarships, and deposits cannot remain in the fund for longer than two years.
In the current school year, the need for tuition assistance was $13.7 million. Schools met approximately 80% of that need through a combination of sources, including fundraisers, individual donors, local scholarships, contributions from parishes, and a distribution from the SJFS. This year’s SJSF distribution was just over $175,000 shared among all 29 diocesan schools.
SJSF Board president Bill Curtis feels a personal commitment to the fund’s recipients. “My own children received so many benefits from attending Catholic school. The messages they got were consistent with what I was trying to give them at home about the faith and the truth and life in the world. That experience continues to create a positive impact on them today … just as it will throughout the lives of the current recipients of the South Jersey Scholarship Fund. And, it will benefit the rest of us in the way they live their lives.
“In South Jersey Catholic Schools, 99% graduate high school and more than 96% of those graduates go on to college. Think about the opportunities those students will have, and the way the world will benefit from their success. That is the gift of a lifetime,” he said.
Donations to the South Jersey Scholarship Fund are accepted all year long. The Spring Sprint is a concentrated effort to strengthen scholarship opportunities in all schools for the coming school year. For more information or to contribute, visit southjerseycatholicschools.org/springsprint or call 856-583-6125.
Stacy Napolitano is special events producer for the diocesan Office of Development.
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