Gordon Roll is the Vice Chair of CEF's Board of Directors and Executive Director of Golden Star.
With the 2015-16 school year fast approaching, it’s important to communicate our goals at CEF. They are aggressive; however, the need is high for those who rely on CEF to help students attend our parish schools. It’s going to be challenging but the board is ready to work hard because the impact we can have with kids, which makes it very rewarding.
We will distribute over $1.3 million in scholarships to a projected 1,446 students in the upcoming school year. These numbers are records for our program and the diocese. This is another sign we are bettering the lives of many families with a Catholic education and this couldn’t be done without the generous donations of so many people. We will surpass the 10,000 scholarship awarded by CEF this year as well.
That said, we have 387 students still waiting for our assistance. To help them, we must work harder to raise additional dollars. Our sell-out crowds at Gaudeamus in October and the Futures Art Event in February are two opportunities to spread our mission and assist us in reaching our financial targets. By attending these events, the message and need becomes clear to all and will set us on course to make this year’s budget numbers.
In addition, CEF has created and budgets for a Guardian Angel Fund (emergency scholarship assistance) to reach more families who need short-term help to keep their kids in Catholic schools. This fund gets dispersed every year and we need to expand it. Again, this is a challenge we’ll need to take head-on and fund it appropriately.
Further, there is an excellent opportunity for CEF to bring in a new set of students and families into our Catholic schools. The state of Kansas has created a Tax Credit program for specific business types. We have put a detailed plan in place to maximize this opportunity. You can learn more about the program on our Tax Credit page.
Needless to say, this is going to be a busy year for CEF. With a strong board, we are focused on meeting and exceeding this year’s budget. If you would like to get involved or donate, go to: https://cefks.org/ways-help. Thank you!
