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June 6, 2005 
VOL.
43, NO. 11Oakland,
CA
Sergio Chavez has known major heartbreak. His wife mysteriously
disappeared when their son, Brad, was four months old. Three years later,
Chavez left his native Honduras to settle with Brad in Oakland.
Although he works as clerical staff at the Honduran Consulate in San Francisco,
the newcomer struggles to pay the rent, keep food on the table, and care
for Brad, now six.
This little family has found stability and hope at St. Elizabeth School
in Oakland, where Brad has just completed kindergarten.
The schooling was possible because of financial help from the diocese’s
Family Aid-Catholic Education (FACE) and another non-profit organization.
But nearly 800 children in the Oakland Diocese from financially strapped
families like the Chavez’s are still waiting for FACE grants to
allow them to have a Catholic education in September.
The organization is working hard to find the $1.9 million needed to give
them partial tuition grants, said Anne Duran Rynders, executive director
of FACE. She said a strong supporter has offered a matching gift of $50,000
for funds raised through June 30.
This year FACE, founded in 1978 to issue grants based solely on economic
need, already has raised nearly $1.7 million for tuition assistance to
962 children enrolled in elementary and secondary schools in the diocese.
These funds will reach “really low-income families,” said
Rynders. The average annual income for a four-person family in Alameda
County receiving FACE funds is $26,000.
But the additional funds are needed to move more children off the waiting
list.
Last school year, the organization provided 553 elementary school students
with $1,350 each and 380 high school students with $2,400 each.
This is about 30 percent of tuition costs, Rynders said. Elementary school
tuition averages about $4600 per child, and $9500 for a high school student.
The students attend 47 schools in the diocese
Families seeking FACE grants are strongly committed to Catholic education
and are willing, like Chavez, to make great sacrifices to pay their portion
of the tuition, Rynders added. Rynders hopes Voice readers will donate
funds towards the $50,000 challenge grant.
To do so, send contributions to FACE, 3014 Lakeshore Ave., Oakland, CA
94610. For further information, phone (510) 628-2156.
Because
of tuition grants from FACE, these girls are able to attend St. Anthony
School in Oakland. More than 800 other children are still on the FACE
waiting list, hoping the organization can raise funds to help them, too.
FACE PHOTO
Sergio
Chavez has received FACE funds so his son Brad can attend St. Elizabeth
School.
FACE PHOTO
