LIFE - Spring Scholarship Drive
April 2010
Dear Friends of the St. Joseph Community,
When financial hard times hit families, their lives can seem to collapse in the blink of an eye. Overnight, unemployed parents can lose their salaries, their pensions, their health care. This is what happened to one wonderful St. Joseph family last year. The company that the dad worked for went bankrupt literally overnight. All was lost. For a while the family stayed afloat with savings, but with no income, those dollars disappeared quickly. Panicked, the mom and dad realized they had to eliminate all but absolutely essential expenses. But what should they do about their children's education? How could they tell their kids that they could no longer go to the school they love, the school that their friends attend, the school that was home to them? This family received just the right advice from members of our SJC community. Go talk to the principal and pastor, they were told. In addition, concerned community members came to us and told us that there was a family in need. People know that St. Joseph's is committed to helping families who value their Catholic faith and their children's Catholic education. Because of your ongoing generosity to our scholarship funds, we were able to reassure this family that we would stand by them and their children, and that their presence meant more to us than their tuition. While looking for work, the parents dedicated extra time to school projects. Soon the dad found a job and came and told us that he could begin paying the full tuition again. He and his wife thank each and every one of you for the happy ending to this story and we join with them by offering our sincere gratitude for your ongoing support of the many programs that benefit the students at St. Joseph of Cupertino School. Last year, gracious donors like you contributed more than $40,000 to ensure the success of our scholarship program through our LIFE (Legacies In Faith and Education) appeal.
The story we shared above represents one family's experience, but St. Joseph's provides financial aid to many other families as well through our three scholarship programs, which enable us to live up to our identity as a Catholic school, rather than a private school. We are here to educate the children of our community and through these funds we are able to reach out to our parish families who otherwise could not afford the full tuition. During this Easter Season, we ask you to join in helping us to live out the legacy of Catholic Education in our parish by supporting our Scholarship Fund Drive. Due to the growing financial need among our school families, we have granted almost $60,000 in financial aid this year. A gift of any amount will help us keep our doors open to all deserving families in our community.
Enclosed is a brochure that further describes the three scholarship funds in our LIFE program. Be assured that 100% of your gift goes directly to the fund you designate; none is used for administrative overhead. Donations are tax deductible, and can be spread over several payments, using our pledge program. For more information about the pledge program, please contact our school office.
In closing, please know how grateful we are for your generosity to our school. We keep you constantly in our prayers.
Sincerely,
Reverend Gregory Ng Kimm
Pastor
Mary Lyons
Principal
