By Patrick Downes
Hawaii Catholic Herald
Make a student smile. Give to the Augustine Educational Foundation this weekend through your parish’s second collection.
The foundation makes a lot of children smile. It oversees more than $1.2 million in scholarships annually for Catholic school students in Hawaii. This year it hopes to collect $120,000 through its annual parish appeal, Feb. 8-9.
This school year, the Augustine Educational Foundation distributed $1,249,968 to 315 students, according to Tonya Stevenson, the foundation’s associate director.
For the 2018-2019 school year, the foundation handed out $1,399,938 to 346 students.
The foundation manages a number of funds, one of the largest being the PWH (Perseverance, Wisdom and Hope) Educational Foundation which gives renewable, full-tuition high school scholarships to students coming from public schools to Damien Memorial School, Sacred Hearts Academy and St. Joseph High School, Hilo.
The program has 55 students currently enrolled. It also had students in Saint Francis School which closed last year.
Besides giving financial assistance to students, PWH provides a school counselor, and receives additional enrichment and support, including an annual retreat.
The PWH program has distributed more than $5 million in scholarships since it started seven years ago.
Twenty-seven have graduated from the program and there are 13 in the graduating class of 2020.
The Augustine Educational Foundation also administers “smart classroom” grants that help transform classrooms into updated learning environments with new technology, storage space, desks and more, thanks to an anonymous grant and parent-volunteer work.
For more information about the Augustine Educational Foundation, call 203-6748.
A message from the Augustine Educational Foundation
Your generous donations to the Augustine Educational Foundation help our mission to support a quality Catholic education in Hawaii. Please support our second collection Feb. 8-9.
To give online, visit augustinefoundation.org. Or try our new “Text to Give Program.” Simply text AEF Oahu, AEF Big Island, AEF Maui, AEF Kauai or AEF Molokai to 77977. Follow the simple registration instructions and make your gift by credit card on your phone. Every gift makes a difference. Mahalo!
