May 6 was a mighty big day that brought a mighty big check to the archdiocese from Catholic Education Foundation (CEF) executive director Vincent Anch.

With support from the caring CEF community, $4.6 million was provided in scholarships to CEF archdiocesan schools to help families who could not otherwise afford to send their children to a Catholic school.

“On behalf of the board members of the Catholic Education Foundation and all of our generous donors,” said Anch, “we want to present this check for scholarships in this amount — $4,594,605 — with a promise to do even more next school year.”

The presentation took place in the library of Our Lady of Unity School in Kansas City, Kansas. The school was chosen because of its record of progress.

During the check presentation, Our Lady of Unity principal Cally Dahlstrom took the opportunity to tell CEF that its support made dreams come true.

“They (families) dream of the opportunity to get a Catholic education and they can’t afford it. But then, they come here and they find CEF.”
- Cally Dahlstrom, Our Lady of Unity Principal

The celebration was bittersweet in view of the recent announcement that Christ the King in Kansas City, Kansas will close in May 2024.

The good news is Christ the King students will continue to be supported by CEF as their families seek other opportunities to continue their children’s Catholic education.

CEF and the Catholic Schools Office have worked together to provide parents with information about other Catholic schools and scholarships to facilitate that choice.

“They’ve been welcomed to explore all schools to see what might work best for the families,” said Debbie Herrman, CEF Director of Business Operations and Scholarship Programs. “Scholarships can definitely flow with them to another (CEF) school.”

As of April, approximately 120 Christ the King students plan to transfer to another Catholic school in the area.

‍

Blog post adapted from this article in the Leaven.

‍