The children at St. Catherine Early Learning Center in Kapaa, Kauai, and their teachers say a little prayer on March 4 for their visitor, Gailene Wong of the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, standing in the back wearing a lei. (Photo courtesy of Celina Haigh)
By Patrick Downes
Hawaii Catholic Herald
At St. Catherine School, Gailene Wong of the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation and Father Anthony Rapozo pose with two recipients of Augustine Educational Foundation scholarships made possible by a Weinberg Foundation endowment, first grader Loveday Thomas and eighth grader Cecilia Lindsey. (Photo courtesy of Celina Haigh)
A representative of the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation went to Kauai March 5 bearing gifts for preschools — generous grants for tuition assistance for children from low income families. Two of the beneficiaries were Catholic schools, St. Catherine Early Learning Center in Kapaa and, on the other side of the island, St. Theresa Early Learning Academy in Kekaha.
The foundation’s Gailene Wong presented Celina Haigh, director of St. Catherine Early Learning Center, and the pastor Father Anthony Rapozo, a check for $55,000. At a separate event, Kacie Pratico, director of the St. Theresa preschool, accepted from Wong a check for $20,000.
“We were beyond ecstatic and blessed to have received this grant to support our families that we serve,” Pratico told the Hawaii Catholic Herald by email. “We wish to encourage other Catholic schools to apply for this grant, so that they may also receive this assistance for their preschool programs.”
The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation’s Gailene Wong poses March 5 with representatives from preschools on Kauai, including Kacie Pratico, director of the St. Theresa Early Learning Academy in Kekaha, far right, and St. Catherine’s director Celina Haigh, second from right. All received grants for tuition assistance for low-income students from the foundation. Wong was unable to visit St. Theresa because of distance and time constraints. (Photo courtesy of Kacie Pratico)