BAY RIDGE — John Rindone, a member of Gen Z, is eager to help kids in Gen Alpha get a leg up in life.
Rindone, 27, does this by helping parents who otherwise might not be able to afford a Catholic education for their children. He and his fiancée, Nicole, donate each year to Futures in Education, the organization that provides scholarships and other forms of financial assistance to children attending Catholic schools in the Diocese of Brooklyn.
Specifically, the couple participates in Futures in Education’s “Angel” program, which allows benefactors to fund one student for an entire school year.
Rindone, who works for the federal government, said he wants to give back because he is a product of a Catholic education — from elementary school through university — and because he strongly believes in the value of Catholic education.
“It is distinct from the sort of education you get in public schools because it focuses on the education of the whole person,” he said. “It’s not just teaching you for the purpose of this or that, test or to learn this or that skill, but it’s interested in cultivating people through their studies.”
Rindone, who grew up in Bay Ridge, attended St. Anselm Catholic Academy, the Genesis middle school program at Xaverian High School in Bay Ridge, and Regis High School on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.
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He is a graduate of Georgetown University.
John Notaro, executive director of Futures in Education, said the organization is grateful to have a donor as young as Rindone.
“He is part of our next generation of donors who are quietly but firmly carrying the torch forward,” Notaro said. “He’s young, committed, and willing to make real sacrifices so that today’s children can experience the same Catholic education that shaped him.”
Rindone and his fiancée have been “Angels” for three years. He said it’s rewarding to know they are helping children with their education.
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Rindone recalled getting a letter from the principal of a school about the student he and Nicole were sponsoring that year. The student’s father had died, and the family was going through a difficult time, the principal wrote. “And our donation helped them bridge them through their final year in that school,” Rindone recalled.
He credited Catholics for fostering a sense of camaraderie and community and for offering a moral foundation to students.
“It’s the moral education and the education in the faith — the way Catholic schools give children the opportunity to come to know the Lord and to learn how to live a Christian life,” he explained. “That’s a wonderful mission.”
HOW TO HELP
Want to Be an Angel? To learn more about Futures in Education’s Angel program, visit: https://futuresineducation.org/become-an-angel/