by Vince Anch
Throughout each school year, the Catholic Education Foundation receives special thank-you notes from students who are receiving CEF scholarships. Some of the notes simply say “Thank you for my scholarship” or “Thank you, CEF.”
Some notes offer more detail, like when children write about how happy they are to be able to pray at school every day with their friends. The notecards are usually handwritten and include drawings of school-themed or religious images.
The ones that are created using construction paper remind me of my years attending a Catholic grade school. Our students are very artistic. The drawings are just as impactful as the messages written inside each notecard.
One thing these notes have in common is the sheer gratitude that is expressed in them.
Equally powerful are the notes that we receive from grateful parents. CEF is currently providing approximately 1,800 children with scholarships. These children would not be able to attend a Catholic school without CEF scholarships. They are life-changing gifts to families that generous people have made possible by supporting CEF.
In addition to their thank-you notes, many children and parents are praying for those who have made their Catholic education possible. This includes people who have donated, volunteered or even prayed for CEF and our schools.
One parent sent a letter recently stating: “We pray for God’s blessings upon your endeavors and daily life.” We should all be mindful that when small miracles happen in our lives, perhaps they originated from someone praying for us.
Here are some samples of thank-you messages recently sent to CEF:
“Thank you for supporting me. It has really helped me and my family.” — Alli
“I get to go to school somewhere that would allow me to grow in my faith.” — Maura
“I think having a Catholic education is important because you get to learn more about God.” — Lilly
“Jesus’ love flows on forever because of you!” — Cam
“My family is really appreciative of the scholarships you provided for my children, and we aim to repay your generosity by seeing our children thrive in their studies and have amazing careers.” — A parent
On behalf of all of CEF’s students, their families and our schools, CEF would like to thank everyone who has supported our scholarship programs.
This has truly been a blessed Thanksgiving for many very thankful students and families.
