06 Aug Message from the Executive Director
August always brings about mixed emotions for me as a wife, mom and employee! School is beginning which means the ‘relaxation’ of the summer for our kids is over, new routines need to be established, school supplies need to be purchased, and the amount of traffic begins to increase as school buses begin picking up children for school. It’s a hectic time, yet one filled with excitement knowing some sort of routine and normalcy will be brought back to our lives.
As a child, I attended both Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Belle Chasse and Ursaline Academy in New Orleans, and am a proud product of a Catholic education which I firmly believe has helped to shape me into the person I am today. My husband and his family also attended several Catholic schools within the diocese including Holy Savior, St. Hilary of Poitiers, and St. Mary’s Nativity School! Now as a mom of three, when deciding where to send our kids to school, attending a Catholic school was incredibly important to our family. However, we understood that this decision comes with sacrifice for our family as there is an education cost but also a priceless benefit we receive at Catholic schools in a Christ-centered environment.
As the director of the Catholic Foundation, I see the sacrifice now from both ends of the spectrum for our schools and families, and have a great appreciation for both! It costs a Catholic school more than tuition to educate a student, and the tuition cost can also be a challenge for many families. In an effort to better support families in our diocese, the Catholic Foundation has begun to work to grow several tuition assistance funds for the Catholic schools within our diocese. Several of our high schools have designated tuition assistance endowments with out Catholic Foundation that perpetually fund tuition assistance funds. Vandebilt Catholic High School receives annual distributions each year from their restricted endowments and received $12,055 this past July. E.D. White Catholic High School also has several restricted endowments with the Catholic Foundation and received $27,904 this past July from their endowments. In addition, the foundation now has two general tuition assistance endowments for Catholic schools within our diocese.
Our Featured Funds
The Nell Talbot Legendre Endowment was established by the Legendre family in memory of Mrs. Nell Talbot Legendre who was incredibly passionate about Catholic education. These funds annually support tuition assistance for our Catholic elementary schools within our diocese. Holy Savior Elementary received the first distribution from the Nell Talbot Legendre Fund this past July.
Bishop Fabre recently established the St. Augustine Endowment dedicated to tuition assistance for children of color attending any Catholic school within the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux. We celebrate the Feast Day of St. Augustine on August 28th. St. Augustine was a great theologian who was known for his desire to spread God’s love to other. The first distribution St. Augustine endowment will be used for the 2022-2023 school year. We hope that families will prayerfully consider supporting these endowments which will assist families who desire a Catholic education and perhaps need some assistance to make that a reality for their children.
I encourage you to pray for our students and teachers entering a new school year and pray for the parents and guardians of the children as they get readjusted to new routines and the stresses of a school year. Please know of my continued prayers for you as well.
For more information on these or any other funds with the Catholic Foundation of South Louisiana, please contact Amy Ponson at 985.850.3116 or aponson@htdiocese.org
Sincerely,
Amy Ponson
Executive Director