Scholarship donors, Archbishop present grants to southwest Detroit students
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Author: Dan Meloy
Republished with permission from Detroit Catholic
$1.1M in scholarships from generous donors granted to 450 students since 2020 through Catholic Foundation of Michigan
DETROIT — Thanks to the generosity of donors across southeast Michigan, $1.1 million in scholarships have been awarded to 450 students across 46 schools in the Archdiocese of Detroit since 2020.
The St. Anne Scholars and St. Martin de Porres scholarship funds, coupled with the Fehring Family Fund, were established in 2020 as a way for Catholic families to afford a Catholic education amidst the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, said Angela Moloney, president and CEO of the Catholic Foundation of Michigan, which facilitates the scholarship funds.
“We had some families who came to us and said, ‘We need to make sure our Catholic schools are thriving and are as amazing as they always have been,’” Moloney said Sept. 26 during a scholarship granting ceremony at Holy Redeemer School in Detroit. “They wanted to make sure families who were struggling had the opportunity to go to our schools.”
The Catholic Foundation worked with pastors and principals to identify families in the community who could benefit from the scholarships, the funds for which were given by individuals and families with the intention of supporting Catholic education, Moloney said.
Archbishop Vigneron visited classes at Holy Redeemer School in Detroit after attending a scholarship granting ceremony where 14 students received scholarships.Several donors were on hand for the celebration, and Archbishop Vigneron addressed the students, asking them to give thanks to God and to the donors who made it possible for them to join the Holy Redeemer School family.
Since 2020, a total of 80 scholarships totaling $160,000 have been awarded to students at Holy Redeemer, a school in Detroit’s Mexicantown neighborhood that today serves a community that’s mostly Hispanic.
Sr. Burbee said the scholarships have allowed the school to make Catholic education more accessible for families part of the Most Holy Redeemer Parish community and with other parishes in the Southwest 2 Family of Parishes, which include neighboring St. Cunegunda and St. Gabriel parishes.
“We have such a growing number of Catholics who are parishioners but don’t have the financial means to come to Holy Redeemer,” Sr. Burbee said. “The scholarships have really allowed us to have new students and to expand our school community, especially among our Family of Parishes. On behalf of the students, I personally want to thank you and thank the foundation for allowing more students to be at Holy Redeemer.”
The Catholic Foundation of Michigan has been organizing scholarship granting ceremonies across the Archdiocese of Detroit, allowing donors to visit with students they are supporting with their philanthropy.Holy Redeemer students sang for the archbishop and the donors, and sixth-grader Mateo De Jesus Pulido addressed the crowd, thanking the foundation for the scholarships on behalf of his classmates.
“I’m very happy to come to this school, but I’m learning more about Jesus and growing in friendship with Him,” Pulido said. “Being at Holy Redeemer is helping me become a better person and a better Catholic. Since I have been here, I’ve made friends. This work is more challenging, but I find it to be fun. My sisters and I love being at this school to experience new things. I’m grateful for the generosity of the people to give me this opportunity to come to Holy Redeemer and grow in my faith.”
Sr. Burbee said the scholarships have been a blessing for the teachers at Holy Redeemer as well, allowing the school to be a better vehicle for evangelization in southwest Detroit.
“Holy Redeemer has been here since 1882 and really is a landmark in southwest Detroit,” Sr. Burbee said. “We’ve always been a neighborhood school — now serving predominately Hispanic families — and it’s been a blessing how families that are coming to church here are desiring to send their kids to Catholic schools. The students are helping me in growing in my faith because their parents are really raising them in the faith. So it’s been a blessing.”
The Catholic Foundation of Michigan has been organizing similar events at schools throughout the Archdiocese of Detroit, giving donors a chance to see what their philanthropy is supporting, and giving students a chance to thank their benefactors.
Archbishop Vigneron hands a scholarship to a Holy Redeemer student. Holy Redeemer principal Sr. Kateri Burbee, SOLT, said the school has been blessed with these scholarships as an opportunity to reach out to parishioners who want to send their children to Catholic school.The donors on the scholarship granting committees had to chance to read essays from students on why they wanted to attend a Catholic school, but seeing the students in person makes the connection all the more special, Angela Moloney said.
Donor Helen Vlasic and her husband, Mike, were at Holy Redeemer School to greet the students and applaud the teachers for their work in crafting disciples.
Vlasic expressed the joy she and other supporters had in reading the scholarship essays, saying it reassured them their support of Catholic education went hand in hand with evangelization.
“My husband and I have come to feel like our job as Catholics is to get people to know Jesus more, and we call that evangelization,” Vlasic said.
“We feel like this scholarship program is a way to help evangelization in Detroit. We’re really honored to be part of this program.”
Anyone can make a gift to these existing scholarship funds in any amount and make a difference. Give online below or contact the Foundation staff at 248-548-3020.
Supporters can also create a scholarship fund that is both unique and personal, based on specific goals. Examples could be tuition assistance for students at a particular school, students interested in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) or the arts. Scholarship funds can be opened with a gift of $25,000 or more.
Your direct support is a helping hand, and more importantly, provides a renewal of hope, faith, and the infinite love and protection of God.
Give now to the St. Anne Scholars Scholarship Fund
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