Leslie Staren is a member of the CEF Futures Leadership Council. She and her husband Dan are chairing the Art Donations committee for the Futures Art Event.
My husband Dan and I moved to the Kansas City area one year ago this September. Not too long after our move we were thrilled to learn that we were expecting our first child, a boy born this past June. As parents, we quickly learned you go above and beyond to give your children the best you are able, and a proper education is on the top of our list. When we talk about the type of education we want for our son, we know giving him a Catholic education is important. Not only do we want our child to have a strong educational experience, we want to provide him with the best possible spiritual skills he needs to enter the world as an adult. When we learned about the Catholic Education Foundation and its mission to provide families in our Archdiocese with the same educational choices, we knew we had to get involved.
For our family, involvement came in the form of the Catholic Education Foundation’s Futures Committee and its annual Art Event. This year’s event will be on Thursday, February 23, 2017, at the Boulevard Brewery in Kansas City. Now in its fifth year, the CEF Art Event offers an exciting evening of music, food and drink as well as the opportunity to view and bid on featured CEF student and professional art.
Last year’s event included 20 pieces of CEF student art available via raffle tickets sold at the event. Enthusiastic students from each of the CEF schools created these pieces. In addition, there were 30 pieces of professional art available through a silent auction. Proceeds from the event provided 36 scholarships for CEF’s Guardian Angel Fund, which provides emergency assistance scholarships for families whose children attend our CEF-supported schools. These scholarships help families who have unexpected financial challenges (medical bills, job loss, etc.) that impact their ability to pay Catholic school tuition. Please click here to learn more about how the CEF Guardian Angel Fund assists families in the Archdiocese.
While we are thrilled with our results from 2016, we cannot succeed in 2017 without the support of newly donated art. Currently, 13 artists have committed a piece for the upcoming year, but we still need help from friends in the community to make this year’s event a hit! Artists and volunteers who have donated in the past are strongly encouraged to donate work again this year. In addition, if you have an artist contact, or even a creative side yourself, we encourage you to contact us. We accept all forms of art media (pottery, painting, jewelry, etc.).
The CEF office will begin collecting artwork at the beginning of January, but please feel free to reach out to a CEF Futures Committee member if you are interested in donating. Your contribution, whether attending the event in February, putting us in contact with an artist, or even donating a piece of your creativity will significantly impact the lives of countless Kansas area families who need our help!
