At the Catholic Education Foundation, our home-grown slogan – “THE ANSWER IS YES!” – is an invitation to families who thought that Catholic education was not at all possible for their children. And that invitation is open to anyone in need. Seven days a week, 365 days a year.
A friend once referred to our slogan as “the impossible dream”, that we couldn’t possibly address the needs of all of the families who can’t afford to send their children to a Catholic school.
When I hear that simple slogan and the promise that comes with it, I often recall a visit to the kindergarten class at St. Rita School in Okolona where we caught up with one of our favorite students. She is the oldest of three Latino children, and we know her parents well. Her father works construction, and her mother is a housekeeper at a local hotel. By certain measures, this hard-working family of five is poor – and clearly unable to afford a Catholic education.
But there she was, sitting at her desk sporting her new school uniform and her beautiful smile! She is in a Catholic school because her parents heard our message, reached out to us, and invested all that they could. Along with our funding partners, we did the rest.
But here’s the best part. We promised this family (and all of our families in need) that we would accompany them through their entire Catholic elementary journey as long they needed us. No matter what.
