July 12, 1997
The Cardinal's Lenten Appeal, the Archdiocese of Baltimore's major fund-raising campaign, has reached its goal of $3.5 million, which will be used for church programs and scholarships for children attending Catholic schools, church officials said.
The Lenten Appeal has raised about $18.5 million since its inception five years ago by Cardinal William H. Keeler.
"The appeal raises funds that are then channeled back to people in the form of new programs, ministries and scholarship programs," said Thomas J. Sonni, director of development for the archdiocese.
"It's provided a funding resource for the cardinal to sustain critical ministries and get some new things started," he said. "We started from zero five years ago. It's really seen tremendous growth, tremendous generosity from the Catholic people."
The biggest chunk of money, a little more than $1 million of the money raised, goes to support education. More than $605,000 goes for tuition assistance for children in Catholic schools.
In addition, the money will be used to support religious education programs in parishes, to assist Catholic high schools in maintaining and repairing their buildings, and to provide assistance for children with learning disabilities.
An additional $1 million collected in the appeal will be used for programs devoted to those in need, including support for AIDS ministries, housing for the poor and assistance for crisis pregnancy centers.
About $900,000 of the fund will be used for spiritual development programs, including grants that enable parishes to hire youth ministers.
"That's very important, to have a person on a parish staff who can take the time to focus on young people's needs and the crises they face," said Mark J. Pacione, the archdiocese's director of youth ministry.
Pub Date: 7/12/97
