Manuel Hernandez, a college student who was once a scholarship recipient, was a guest speaker at the Futures in Education’s Annual Scholarship Dinner Monday night, an affair that drew more than 500 people and filled the grand ballroom of the Cipriani Wall Street event space.
More students across the Diocese of Brooklyn will be able to afford and attend Catholic schools during this academic year, thanks in part to grants provided by the Catholic Foundation for Brooklyn and Queens (CFBQ).
The 2021 Catholic Education’s Year of Renewal Summit celebrated the Diocese of Brooklyn’s resilience during the pandemic and encouraged further development of vibrant, rigorous religious education in local schools and faith formation programs.
Educator Helen Keller once said, “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” It’s a mantra that can be applied to the teams who work simultaneously at the Catholic Foundation for Brooklyn and Queens (CFBQ) and Futures in Education (FIE) for Brooklyn and Queens.
This year, the annual Futures in Education Gala has officially gone virtual to help families keep their children in local parish schools and Catholic academies. Futures in Education relies on this gala every fall to raise money for scholarships.
School leaders and education advocates in the Diocese of Brooklyn are going the extra mile to accommodate former public school parents seeking to enroll their children in Catholic schools.
When we reflect on the COVID-19 crisis, I pray we can look back on this period as the great turning point for our Catholic schools. Amid the suffering and uncertainty, the light of our Catholic schools shone through, especially in Brooklyn and Queens.
Futures in Education has started an emergency relief fund to offer financial help for unemployed parents who suddenly find themselves struggling to pay their child’s tuition.
The conference provided an opportunity for Catholic schools in the Brooklyn Diocese to promote three of their attributes: They are affordable for many low-income families because of scholarships; they outperform public schools academically; and they teach faith-based values.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Oct. 24 that the funding and construction of a New York City statue honoring St. Frances Xavier Cabrini will be overseen by a new 19-member committee which includes members from the Diocese of Brooklyn.
