BENSONHURST — When Vanessa Donneys-Cunalata walks into her son Nico’s school, you can’t blame her for heading straight to the music room, where her family name is emblazed in a gold-colored plaque on the door.
Donneys-Cunalata, whose son is in the first grade at St. Athanasius Catholic Academy in Bensonhurst, is one of more than a dozen donors taking part in the academy’s new “Adopt A Classroom” fundraiser.
Through the initiative, benefactors who donate funds to the academy gain naming rights to a classroom for the school year. Donors can name the room after themselves, another living person, or dedicate it to the memory of a deceased friend or loved one.
The program offers three levels of donations — Gold ($1,000), Silver ($500), and Bronze ($250) — and donors at every level get a plaque on the door of their adopted classroom.
Adopt A Classroom has been a massive success, according to Principal Gina Auricchio, who noted that 14 classrooms have been adopted by donors for this school year. In addition to adopting classrooms, benefactors also helped the academy by donating funds to help support other spaces — such as the gymnasium, the computer lab, the library and the science, technology, engineering, arts and math (STEAM) lab.
“I get emotional when I think about it,” she said.
The donated funds are used for specific purposes in each adopted classroom. For example, basketballs and soccer balls were purchased for the gym with the $1,000 that Rebecca Ochoa’s family donated. Another donation, from Vanessa Donneys-Cunalata, enabled the academy to buy keyboards for the music room.
Auricchio, who is in her first year as principal of St. Athanasius, said she conceived the idea for Adopt A Classroom during a summer brainstorming session with her teachers, considering ways to raise money for the academy.
“They were saying, ‘It’s too bad we couldn’t get someone to come in to get a grant.’ Grants are hard to get. We also talked about asking companies to give us sponsorships. And then I said, ‘How about individual classrooms?’ We could open it up, and you could adopt a classroom.’ We thought about it a little more and decided to do it,” she said.
After obtaining approval from the academy’s board of trustees, Auricchio spread the word about the new Adopt A Classroom fundraiser on social media.
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Almost immediately, she heard from alumni, St. Athanasius Church parishioners, and even people unconnected to the academy who wanted to be a part of it. Within weeks, the naming rights to 18 classrooms and programs had been secured through donations.
Donneys-Cunalata knew right away that she wanted to donate to the music room. “My son loves music, so I know that the money that I had should be going to something that he’s going to enjoy. And it’s not only him. It’s also helping other kids in school,” she said.
Ochoa is a 2016 graduate of St. Athanasius. She donated $1,000 in the name of her family’s business, Right at Home, a home care agency based in Bay Ridge. “I went to school here, from nursery school until eighth grade. My brother came to school here. If I’m able to give back, I want to give back,” she said.
Frank Milea has strong connections to the academy. His daughter-in-law, Amy Milea, is a Pre-K teacher, and his two grandchildren, Molly and Austin, are students. He donated $750 for silver and bronze plaques to be placed in two classrooms in memory of his daughter-in-law’s father, Joe Braganza. Milea said he donated the funds because Catholic schools need help.
“I think it’s important,” he said. “There is a need, and people have to understand that.”
In addition to having their names displayed on the doors, the donors will also have the opportunity to visit their adopted classrooms and meet the students.
The current Adopt A Classroom name rights will remain in effect throughout the school year, and Auricchio said she is hopeful that next fall, new donors will be coming in.
She pointed out that there’s a valuable lesson for students in the generosity of donors.
“It aligns with what we teach them about our Catholic identity — being empathetic, giving back to others,” Auricchio explained. “We teach them academics. But overall, we want to teach them about being a good person.”