Thanks to the generosity of more than 100 donors, the South Jersey Scholarship Fund presented $175,000 to the Office of Catholic Schools last summer for tuition assistance to families in need. As a result, 86 students received scholarship assistance for the 2021-22 academic year.
Two of those students, Nancy Perez Cuazitl of Saint Michael the Archangel Regional School, Clayton, and Adrianna Green of Gloucester Catholic Junior Senior High School, received full scholarships, as requested by the donors.
“Our family would like to offer our heartfelt gratitude for this scholarship that our daughter Adrianna has received. This will allow her the financial as well as the spiritual opportunities that she would never have in the public-school setting,” said Barry and Danielle Green. “This scholarship will have a positive effect on Adrianna and her future. We are forever thankful.”
The additional 84 recipients received partial scholarships to attend one of the 29 schools operated by the Diocese of Camden. For many, this made the difference in enabling them to remain enrolled in their schools.
“The South Jersey Scholarship Fund [allocation] is always offered to Christ the King Regional School families who experience unexpected and significant financial crises and who normally may not have needed to apply for financial aid in previous years,” said Anne Hartman, principal of the Haddonfield school. “In the last two years, the four families who have received the funds provided by the South Jersey Scholarship Fund would have struggled, and in some cases, were going to withdraw their children due to the immediate impact of their unexpected loss of income.”
Kyle Orosz, principal in Saint Joseph Pro-Cathedral School, said many donors may not realize the important impact giving can make. “Being in a safe, achieving and loving school truly changes the course of a child’s life.”
She continued, “For families in Camden, the need for help is particularly dire in the aftermath of COVID. The South Jersey Scholarship Fund has enabled two of our families to remain at Saint Joseph Pro-Cathedral School.”
Said John Nihill, partner with Wipfli LLP, “As a proud business partner of the Diocese of Camden and the South Jersey Scholarship Fund, accounting and business consulting firm Wipfli LLP is pleased to support the fund’s mission to provide financial assistance to help educate children in schools operated by the Diocese of Camden, especially those additional financial challenges created by COVID-19. A fundamental part of Wipfli’s culture is to give back to our communities where our associates and clients reside.”
Those on the SJSF board of trustees say they appreciate the commitment by donors, all of whom make it possible to carry on the mission.
Mariann Gilbride, director of development for the Diocese of Camden and member of the fund’s board of trustees said, “We recently had the pleasure of welcoming representatives from Investors Foundation, who presented us with a donation for next year. It’s truly a Thanksgiving blessing to know that they, and all of our generous supporters, will enable us to continue helping families in need and ultimately the world, which students will someday impact as leaders guided by the values and the excellent faith-based education found in Catholic Schools.”
Stacy Napolitano is special events producer for the diocesan Office of Development.
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