The Prince Albert Catholic Education Foundation has made a donation to the Prince Albert Catholic School Division for start-up of the 2022-2023 school year.
Education Director Lorel Trumier said the funds will go a long way to helping the division.
“It really helps us with our faith formation, (and) our resources that we but to support the Catholic faith in our classrooms and in our operations,” she said.
Trumier said that the donation was a highlight for the division. She updated the board of education about it during their Monday their regular meeting.
“Especially with the last few years, fundraising hasn’t been easy,” she explained. “But, they (the Foundation) have been certainly working on what they have in terms of dollars and trying to still find ways to support us, so I think that was really significant,”
The PACE Foundation is committed to nurturing, promoting, and supporting the vision, mission, and core values of the Catholic School system. It works in partnership with the city’s Catholic schools, parishes, and the larger community.
The board was also updated on the success of the Toonies for Tuition campaign in the division, which saw almost $6,000 raised.
“We try to set a target of a toonie for every student that we have so that a donation could be made to the Canadian Catholic Trustees Association,” Trumier said.
The board approves the fundraiser annually. Many families in Canada need to pay tuition to attend Catholic schools. The CCSTA through the Toonies for Tuition Endowment Fund alleviates the burden on these families who live in provinces where Catholic education has limited or no public funding.
“It’s almost $6,000 that’s raised and all of our schools during COVID still managed a way to find ways to do a little fundraising, and have a toonie for each child,” she said. “That doesn’t mean each child gave one, but they certainly participate in activities, whether it was a little popcorn sale or something, that help.”
Individually, St. Anne School raised $1,200, St. John raised $742, St. Michael raised $500, St. Catherine raised $400, St. Francis raised $343.30, Ecole St. Mary High School raised $750 and Holy Cross raised $1,150.
Support also came from across the division and from the board itself, with trustees donating $450.
The initiative was spearheaded by former board vice chair Albert Provost in 2011.
“I think that’s significant the commitment to Toonie for Tuition so that other families can have their children in Catholic education in provinces where it is not publically funded is significant,” Trumier said.
michael.oleksyn@paherald.sk.ca
