Many Gifts, One Nation — A Day of Giving to Catholic Schools — Jan. 29-30

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People who are grateful for blessings they’ve received from a Catholic education are invited to give thanks by giving back during the second annual “Many Gifts, One Nation: A Day of Giving to Catholic Schools.”

Scheduled to take place throughout the United States from 11 a.m. central time on Tuesday, Jan. 29, to 11 a.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 30, this is an ideal time to make an online gift to any Catholic school of your choice.

The giving campaign coincides with the middle of Catholic Schools Week.

During that 24-hour period, visit www.NCEA.org/csw/manygifts to search for the Catholic schools that have made a difference in your life.

You can give to as many schools or dioceses as you would like.

Your gift will go only to the school you have selected and your donor information will not be shared with any other school or organization.

MasterCard, Visa and Discover will be the only accepted forms of payment.

A receipt will be sent directly to your e-mail address once your gift has been made.

The Jefferson City diocese made a strong showing in last year’s inaugural Day of Giving, ranking 19th in the nation for the total amount received.

Fourteen Catholic schools in the diocese received a total of 138 gifts adding up to $11,160.

My hope is that we can stay in the top 25 diocese for the 2019 event!” said Sister Elizabeth Youngs of the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth, diocesan superintendent for Catholic schools.

Last year, 18 schools in the diocese provided personalized school information on their Day of Giving landing page online.

The school with the highest number of participants was Fr. Tolton Regional Catholic High School.

“They did a great job of alerting their community to the coming event, sent an e-mail on the day of the event reminding community members of the opportunity to give, and gave some suggested amounts connected to a variety of needs,” said Sr. Elizabeth. 

The next-highest participation was from Immaculate Conception School in Loose Creek, followed by St. Joseph School in Salisbury.

When this information was announced at the administrators meeting, a couple of other local Catholic schools reported that they had received direct donations, or donations later in the week, in conjunction with the Day of Giving promotion.

In addition to encouraging gifts from local supporters, the nation-wide campaign is intended to create new donors for support of Catholic schools, or to reconnect people with roots in the community or ties to the schools who now live at a distance with Catholic schools.

Last year’s National Day of Giving campaign, the first, generated $859,000 nationwide from 6,957 donations made to 539 out of a total of 6,352 Catholic schools in this country, representing 137 of the 176 U.S. dioceses.

Donors are also encouraged to let others know that they participated in the National Day of Giving, by sharing on their social media networks and challenging former teachers, classmates and friends to give.

 

“Learn. Serve. Lead. Succeed.”

Catholic Schools Week is being observed this year from Jan. 27 to Feb. 2.

Schools and parishes around the country will hold activities such as Masses, open houses, and family gatherings to celebrate the communities they represent.

This year’s theme is “Catholic Schools: Learn. Serve. Lead. Succeed.”

Bishop Michael C. Barber SJ of Oakland, California, newly elected chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Catholic Education noted that young people today need Catholic education more than ever.

“In a world where truth, beauty and goodness are considered all but subjective, the Way, Truth and Life offered us in Jesus Christ are our only source of direction, clarity and hope,” he said.

“Furthermore, being rooted in faith does not endanger the academic quality of Catholic schools, but in fact is their very motivation for excellence in all things,” he stated.

Nearly 1.8 million students are currently educated in 6,352 Catholic schools in cities, suburbs, small towns and rural communities around the country.

Among these are 37 Catholic grade schools and three Catholic high schools in the Jefferson City diocese.

 

Much to celebrate

The week also highlights the educational and community successes of Catholic schools nationwide.

Ninety-nine percent of Catholic school students graduate from high school, and 86 percent of Catholic school graduates attend college.

This percentage has been consistent for over 20 years.

Catholic schools and the many members of Catholic school communities will share their Catholic Schools Week celebrations on social media using #CSW19.

The National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA) and the Secretariat of Catholic Education will also highlight Catholic education’s strengths, successes and stories on their Twitter profiles: @NCEATalk and @USCCBCatholicEd, respectively.

More information on the Committee on Catholic Education and other resources are available online:

www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/how-we-teach/catholic-education/

and

www.NCEA.org/csw

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