NEW YORK - 25 May 2007 - 400 words
New
York: atheist donates $22 million to Catholic schools
A retired Wall Street financier
who describes himself as an atheist, has given more than $22 million
to the archdiocese of New York, because he said: "without
the Roman Catholic church there would be no Western civilisation".
Thousands of needy New York City school children will now benefit from the highly regarded education offered in Catholic inner city schools thanks to the recording-breaking gift.
There are currently 8,000 places available to any student who wishes to attend a Catholic inner-city school. Mr Wilson's gift will enable 3,000 children to fill those seats this coming September.
The $22.5 million is earmarked for the Cardinal's Scholarship Program. During the first two years of the program, 3,700 students have received scholarships and now attend the Catholic inner city school of their choice. The total cost of the scholarships is $158 million, of which more than $97 million has already been raised including Mr Wilson's gift. Another donor who wishes to remain anonymous has given an additional $4.5 million to the Program.
His Eminence, Edward Cardinal Egan expressed his gratitude for "such historic and far-sighted support from Mr Wilson for the education and future well being of our neediest children in the Archdiocese."
The Cardinal's Scholarship Program was started in 2005 to assist thousands of New York families living at or below the poverty line who want a high quality Catholic education but cannot afford tuition costs. It is being funded by a partnership among Cardinal Egan, The Children's Scholarship Fund, The Inner City Scholarship Fund, The Endowment for Inner City Education, The Patrons Program, and the Archdiocesan Department of Education. To date, the Cardinal's Scholarship Fund has awarded 3,700 scholarships with a maximum individual tuition value of $2,100 per year.
Students attending Catholic inner city elementary schools in the Archdiocese have out-performed New York City public school students in the 4th and 8th grade Math and English Language Arts standardized tests in each of the past five years. Ninety-eight percent of Catholic high school seniors in New York graduate in four years and nearly all of them are admitted to college. The school drop out rate is less than 1%. An "extended day" academic enrichment program bolsters these accomplishments and a two-year "principals academy" is being developed to prepare Catholic teachers to lead the Catholic schools of the future.
For more information see: www.scholarshipfund.org.
Source: Arhdiocese of New York
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