Dear Parishioners,
We have a great opportunity to make a difference in our community. Old St. Mary’s school continues to offer excellent Catholic education for our children. As a pastor, one of my responsibilities is for children to be educated in the teachings of the church. Catholic education would not happen without the help and support of our community and those who love our Church. Our school continues to work on ways to fund scholarships for our students.
As this continues to be a time of need, I am grateful to you for supporting the advancement of Catholic school education. You can help our school by participating in the Tax Credit Scholarship program, which is a matching gift opportunity that benefits your state taxes and Catholic schools. The State of Illinois created a tax credit scholarship program through the “Invest in Kids” Act that is mutually beneficial to students and donors. It provides a 75 percent Illinois State income tax credit to individuals who contribute money to fund scholarships for students from low-income families to attend private schools.
In 2020, Old St. Mary’s was able to fund 16 scholarships totaling $124,012 through the generous support of donors like you, however, 9 children were left on the waiting list. Students on the waitlist did receive in-house financial assistance, if they enrolled.
For the 2021-2022 School year, Old St. Mary’s has raised $156,000, which includes the Archdiocese of Chicago 2 for 1 match of $100,000. To date, this has funded 18 scholarships for both current and new students.
- BUT we have 14 additional students, both current & enrolled/new that are currently waitlisted for a tax credit scholarship, totaling approximately $114,000.
Our in-house financial aid will cover those that ultimately do not receive a tax credit scholarship.
Please click on INVEST IN KIDS ACT to read the 3 easy steps to invest along with a step-by-step guide.
Old St. Mary’s is part of Region 1 – Cook County and Empower Illinois is the Scholarship Granting Organization (SGO).
We hope you will join us in supporting the Archdiocese of Chicago Catholic schools and provide more children a quality Catholic school education.
Sincerely,
Fr. Brad Schoeberle, CSP
Pastor – Old St. Mary’s Parish
If additional assistance is needed, please contact the archdiocese’s Tax Credit Scholarship Office: [email protected] or 312.534.2617 or Shannon Carsello, [email protected].