Futures in Education of the Diocese of Brooklyn held its annual Angels on the Fairway golf outing, raising approximately $410,000 to benefit the scholarship recipients attending Catholic schools in Brooklyn and Queens.

Following Holy Thursday Mass, celebrated by Msgr. Jamie Gigantiello, vicar for development, at the Creek Golf Club, about 100 golfers waited out the rain and took to the meticulous fairways.

Golfers and guests enjoyed a surf-and-turf feast hosted by NET-TV personality Johanna Botta.

Established in 1989, Futures in Education ensures that the gift of an excellent Catholic education continues to be a viable option for current and future generations of deserving students in Brooklyn and Queens. Futures provides assistance to the neediest of those students, through endowment funds and fundraising programs that focus on key educational priorities.

While the average tuition at a Catholic elementary school is $3,908, the average annual household income of scholarship recipients is less than $27,000. Although it is a struggle for these families, parents choose these schools because of solid test scores, superior graduation rates and high levels of entry into four-year universities, which the schools provide, along with a firm faith formation.

The golf outing is closely associated with the Be an Angel to a Student program. An angel is a concerned individual who sponsors a student by providing partial tuition assistance starting at $1,500 per year. An angel not only provides the financial support to a student in need, but he or she also represents the confidence a child needs to succeed.

Msgr. Gigantiello thanked the more than 200 dinner guests for attending this year’s event.

“The Angels on the Fairway Golf Outing is a win, win for everyone,” he said. “The children of our Catholic Schools benefit through the gift of education and the golfers benefit from the unique experience of playing at the renowned and prestigious Creek Golf Club.”