The Good News Fall-Winter 2022

The Good News from Alums, Friends and Families providing tuition assistance to Community of Saints Regional Catholic School

Download PDF: The Good News Fall-Winter 2022

• What It Takes to Fund a Catholic School: A Conversation about the Real Costs and Ingenuity Required to Deliver a Quality Education at Community of Saints – For a long time, nearly all Catholic elementary schools were parish schools, the teachers were nuns, and the schools could pretty much cover their costs with a combination of tuition, parish support, and modest fundraising. Today, things look very different. To understand what funding looks like at Community of Saints Regional Catholic School (COS), I talked to Phil Boelter who’s on the school’s board of directors and serves on the finance committee…
• Fr. Steve’s Column – Generosity is a way of life. It is the recognition that all I am and all I have is a gift from God. These gifts are to be used responsibly and shared with others. Generous parents produce and nurture generous children. The McKeown and Cullen families are fine examples of this.
• COS Garden Yields a Bountiful Harvest – Last spring, with the help of Master Gardeners from the University of Minnesota Extension Program, students at Community of Saints (COS) planted tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, and green beans along with other vegetables, herbs, and flowers for pollinators, in a garden on the school’s campus.
• 2021-2022 Annual Report – A&F&F Contributions Provide Foundation for Success. 590 Donors contributed $468,117. Community of Saints was launched in 2012 with minimal resources, zero financial reserves, and a unique mission — to ensure all families in the community have access to a high-quality, Catholic education regardless of their ability to pay tuition. Fifteen years later, COS owns its campus, has strong enrollment, an outstanding staff, strong community partnerships, and state-of-the-art technology. The school is recognized as a leader for innovative programs that increase equity in educational outcomes. These accomplishments are the direct result of your commitment to our mission.
• A Mass to Celebrate Your Generosity, Thursday, December 8 at 9:00 a.m. at Community of Saints. You are welcome to join us in person for a school Mass to honor the generous support of A&F&F donors. Fr. Steve Adrian will preside. Following Mass, you can tour the school, enjoy refreshments, and meet our middle school students.
• Double Your Gift! For the month of December, all gifts will be matched dollar-for- dollar (up to $7,500) thanks to the generous support of an alum and good friend of COS. Donate online at www.communityofsaints.org/give
• Celebrate a Loved One with a Gift in Their Name – This Christmas, give a gift in honor or in memory of someone in your life to celebrate their commitment to Catholic education. One hundred percent of your donation goes to support tuition assistance for students at Community of Saints. Mail your gift to: Community of Saints, 335 Hurley St. E., West St. Paul, MN 55118. Make checks payable to Community of Saints. You can also give online by visiting www.communityofsaints.org/give. Your contribution is tax deductible and all gifts made by December 31, 2022, will be matched dollar-for-dollar up to $7,500, thanks to the generous support of an alum and good friend of COS. Call Doug Lieser at 651-457-2510 for more information.

Special thanks to Jeannine of Block Portrait Studios for many of the photos in this issue. To see more, visit her website at block-studios.com.

See previous editions of The Good News