PC makes celebratory $100K gift to local Diocesan schools

REV. BRIAN J. SHANLEY, Providence College's president, announced a $100,000 gift in support of Catholic education in the city during a press conference Tuesday at St. Pius V School. / PBN FILE PHOTO/RUPERT WHITELEY
REV. BRIAN J. SHANLEY, Providence College's president, announced a $100,000 gift in support of Catholic education in the city during a press conference Tuesday at St. Pius V School. / PBN FILE PHOTO/RUPERT WHITELEY

PROVIDENCE – In honor of the school’s centennial anniversary, Providence College President Rev. Brian J. Shanley announced a $100,000 gift in support of Catholic education in the city during a press conference Tuesday at St. Pius V School.

“There is no better preparation for an education at Providence College than the academic rigor and spiritual formation provided at a Catholic elementary and secondary school,” said Shanley in prepared remarks.

Over four years, the college will donate the money in four $25,000 equal sums. These funds will be used to finance scholarships for elementary and secondary school students through the Diocesan Catholic School Office’s Anchor of Hope Fund – a Diocesan financial assistance fund that helps financially strapped families secure a Catholic school education for their children.

In addition, recognizing the founder of Providence College, a portion of the funds will be used to establish the Bishop Matthew Harkins Founder Fund, which will provide tuition assistance to five of Providence’s urban elementary schools: Bishop McVinney School (South Providence), Blessed Sacrament School (Mt. Pleasant), St. Augustine School (Mt. Pleasant), St. Pius V School (Elmhurst) and St. Thomas Regional School (Fruit Hill).

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Paired with the scholarships, which will begin in September, will be a service component in which Providence College students, faculty and staff volunteer during the elementary school’s Reading Weeks. The school will work with each of the five elementary schools to determine the specific needs of each school.

According to the Diocesan School Office, there are 11,525 children enrolled in Catholic schools statewide. Of those students there are 2,732 enrolled in Providence schools and 1,074 enrolled in the five Providence elementary schools targeted by the Providence College funds.

Also in attendance was the Most Reverend Thomas J. Tobin, bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence, who noted the importance of this gesture in funding Catholic education.

“I am very grateful to Father Shanley and Providence College for this outstanding gift to our Catholic schools. The financial support is itself very encouraging; it will make a significant difference for many of our students and their families,” he said in a statement.

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