25 Feb Mission Moment – February 2022
When you think of the Catholic Foundation, you may automatically think of the priests, seminarians, and other clergy of our diocese, but beyond our work with the clergy, our foundation is proud to serve one of the largest ministries within our diocese — Catholic Education!
Our diocese is blessed with 11 Catholic elementary and high schools — educating approximately 4,900 students every year with quality education rooted within our Catholic beliefs. Today we’re highlighting a school that has worked with the Catholic Foundation since our inception in 2015, Vandebilt Catholic High School located in Houma, Louisiana!
Vandebilt has several specific endowments with our foundation that support student tuition assistance, operational funding and specific ministries of the school. Several of these endowments include:
- The Brother Ray Kuhn and Brother Alfred Kolb endowments for Tuition Assistance
- The Gabrielle Hebert Endowed Fund for Scholarships for one graduating senior at Vandebilt each year
- The Megan Hitt Endowed Fund for the Vandebilt Yearbook and Campus Ministry
- The T.J. Cantrelle Endowed Fund for Tuition Assistance
- The Vandebilt Catholic General Endowed Fund to support the school’s general operations
Over the past few years the Catholic Foundation has provided more than $43,000 to Vandebilt through these endowments. We are so proud to work with one of our diocesan high schools to create a lasting legacy for the future generations of Catholic Education.
“Vandebilt is committed to spiritual formation and academic excellence in an environment rooted in Catholic values and in the teachings of Jesus Christ. It’s an honor to work with their families and supporters who see great value in Catholic Education,” shared Amy Ponson, Executive Director of the Catholic Foundation.
Most recently, the Catholic Foundation has partnered with the “V” Foundation of South Louisiana to grow long term sustainable support of Vandebilt specifically for their teachers to help ensure the students of Vandebilt have the strongest teacher ministers possible to advance their education and formation of students. In this partnership, we are aligned in our vision of sustainability and are eager to begin focusing on long term support within the community. “V” Foundation Board of Directors members, Dr. Bobby Haydel and Dr. Chris Saal, and the rest of the board have worked closely with our team to create a fund within the Catholic Foundation to support current and future efforts within Catholic Education.
To learn more about how you can support Vandebilt Catholic High School or another school within the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux, please contact Amy Ponson the Executive Director of the Catholic Foundation at 985.850.3116 or by email at aponson@htdiocese.org.
