| 
| A Special Message from Timothy Cardinal Dolan Archbishop of New York |
Dear Newsmax Reader:
Even in the best of circumstances, growing up can present real challenges. For inner-city school children, these challenges are multiplied many times over, and are often overwhelming. Inner-City Scholarship Fund (ICSF) helps to remove the fundamental challenge of getting a good education in a safe, secure environment in New York City by providing families with demonstrable financial need the opportunity to give their children a quality, values-based K-12 Catholic school education. Nearly 70% of the students enrolled in the 93 inner-city elementary and secondary schools served by the Archdiocese of New York come from homes living at or below the federal poverty line. The average scholarship recipient's family income is approximately $24,000 per year. Over 50% of the students attending inner-city Catholic schools in the Archdiocese come from single-parent households. Despite these impediments, our Catholic schools – in partnership with ICSF donors of all faiths – enable our students and their families to overcome enormous odds and break the cycle of poverty through education. Fully 98% of seniors from ICSF-supported high schools graduate, and 96% of those graduates pursue higher education at colleges and universities across the nation. A scholarship for one of these inner-city school children can radically change their life, and that of their family, for future generations. In addition to being oases of stability and sanity, our schools fundamentally alter the course of thousands of students' lives by offering them the only tool proven to help lift people out of poverty: an education. Last year, we had to tell thousands of students who applied for scholarships to Catholic schools that, for them, a scholarship was not available. Currently, 5,000 seats are available in our Catholic schools— that's 5,000 life-changing opportunities waiting to be taken advantage of with our donors' help. You can make a real difference by helping ICSF fill those seats. 
We are proud of our programs' high graduation rates and the percentage of our graduates who go on to pursue a college education. But these statistics only reveal a small part of what a Catholic education means. Statistics can't capture the Catholic high school junior who commutes three hours round trip every day to get an education that will give her real options for her future, or the Catholic school alumnus who's the first in his family to graduate college. Statistics can't describe to you the single mother who lacks a high school diploma but works two full-time jobs to raise enough money to pay tuition so that her young son will have a better life than she ever imagined. Statistics can't communicate the inspiration that motivates a young couple – just starting to have children of their own – to stretch themselves financially so that they can sponsor a Catholic school education for a child less fortunate than their own. ICSF Scholarships are available for needy students of all faiths. In fact, 36% of ICSF students are not Catholic and 93% are minorities. We believe that ICSF, with the help of individuals like you, has the power to transform lives. Each of the 33,100 inner-city students attending ICSF-supported schools are exceptional — they are exceptions to the rule that says growing up in poverty limits what you can achieve. It is a truly exceptional story we are proud of because we want to continue transforming the lives of these young people. ICSF exists to ensure that the gift of an excellent Catholic school education continues to be a viable option for current and future generations of students of all faiths. I hope you can join ICSF and support our worthy mission to help our young people, our future. Please do so by Going Here Now. Thank you, and God bless you! Faithfully, 
Timothy Michael Cardinal Dolan
Archbishop of New York
Chairman of Inner-City Scholarship Fund
| 
Comments
Post a Comment