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Lumen Christi Schools kick off annual campaign
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Neighbors | Submitted.Annual campaign chair Father John Keehner (left) and Bishop George Murry spoke before addressing the guests at Lumen Christi Schools annual campaign.
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Neighbors | Submitted.The Heavenly Hornets, a jazz choir from St. Nicholas School, entertained the guests during Lumen Christi Schools annual campaign.
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Neighbors | Submitted.Lumen Christi Schools hosted its annual campaign to raise $75,000 to help bridge the gap between tuition and the cost to educate. Pictured, from left, are board chair Jim Rosa, Lumen Christi President Lois Cavucci, Bishop George Murry, Youngstown State University President Jim Tressel and annual campaign chair Father John Keehner.
By TIM CLEVELAND
Lumen Christi School hosted the kick off event for its annual campaign on Sept. 18 at the home of Jim and Sue Rosa.
The goal was to raise $75,000 to help bridge the gap between tuition and the cost of educating and the donations will be used for the schools’ top priorities, including tuition assistance for its families, academic programs and technology, including STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) and professional development for its faculty.
“Lumen Christi is working with a consulting company called Catholic School Management, Inc.,” Lumen Christi marketing director Kitty Brown said. “As part of a four-year development plan, they suggested that we launch an annual campaign. The event itself was not actually a fundraiser, but rather an event to kick off the annual campaign.”
The event featured remarks from Youngstown State University President Jim Tressel, Bishop George Murry, Father John Keehner [who also served as the annual campaign’s chair] and Lumen Christi parents Liz Phillips and Marty Desmond.
Tressel spoke about the importance of Catholic schools in the Valley and the many contributions that Catholic school graduates have made to Youngstown State.
The evening also consisted of a variety of appetizers and drinks.
The annual campaign will benefit all of Lumen Christi Schools, including Holy Family, St. Charles, St. Christine, St. Nicholas, St. Patrick and the Early Childhood Learning Centers at St. Luke, Holy Family, St. Christine and St. Joseph.
“The evening was a great success; it gave us the opportunity to share important information about Lumen Christi Catholic Schools to potential supporters,” Brown said. “We talked about some of our accomplishments and our plans for the future. We stressed the fact that the majority of our schools have experienced an increase in enrollment for the first time in years. For the 2014-2015 school year, Lumen Christi also provided a new source of financial assistance to our families. We distributed a total of $47,000 to over 80 families. Finally, this fall, we are enhancing our STEM offerings in each of our elementary schools to include 3D printers.”