Michael Morrisey is the executive director of the Catholic Education Foundation. You can reach him at (913) 647-0383 or send an email to him at: mmorrisey@archkck.org.
by Michael Morrisey
Good morning, afternoon or evening. I hope this article finds you with an open mind and the willingness to listen to a Morrisey.
I think you would agree that we are here on earth to praise the Lord, take care of our families and help the rest of the world. This writing will be focused on helping the rest of the world. At the end of my words, I believe you will say: “That’s a duh!”
In 2011-12, the Catholic Education Foundation helped 1,214 kids go to a Catholic school in our archdiocese. That is the good news. Our principals tell us that if this assistance was not available, over 1,000 of these students would not be enrolled in our schools and reaping the benefits of a Catholic education.
The not-so-good news is that today we have identified over 400 more children who want to attend one of our schools, but are not able to do so because they/we do not have the funding for them to enroll in our Catholic school system. Sad, but true . . . and how bad is that?
We support many good missions in our world. However, I suggest that at the top of the list has to be giving a kid the opportunity to go to a Catholic school. These less fortunate kids and others are our future. They are the future of our Catholic Church, they are the future leaders in our community, they are the future pillars of our society. I could go on and on.
I know I am preaching to the choir, but sometimes the hymnals are out of date.
Ray Lyman Wilbur once said: “Unless we think of others and do something for them, we miss one of the greatest sources of happiness.” See, this can be about us as well.
St. Luke says it best: “Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more” (Lk 12: 48).
I know you already know this. I have a brilliant solution to this problem. We need to figure out a way to increase the Catholic Education Foundation dollar allocation to our schools to include the 430 kids who want to attend one of our schools.
You can support our current scholarship drive by helping provide a scholarship(s) for children currently living in poverty. That is the answer. I told you it was brilliant!
OK, now is the time to say it: “That’s a duh!”
For more information on how to help provide scholarships for children in need, go to our website at: www. cefks.org.
