Page 5 - Salesianum - Distinguished Gentleman - Summer 2020

Salesianum Establishes
TWO EMERGENCY FUNDS
Oto Manage Virus Fallout
Brendan Kennealey Dawn and Bill Schieffer
n April 1, 2020, Salesianum challenge would far outpace announced the creation the initial funding, Salesianum
of two separate funds to challenged the broader alumni and address the economic parent community to match the and medical impact of
will be enough,” Kennealey says. “The economic damage isn’t just affecting those at the margins: it’s professionals, too. We’re going to see to it that all of them stay enrolled, but I think we could be dealing with this for several years to come and I want to make sure we continue to have the resources to do so.”
While many secondary schools and universities have since established funds to provide emergency tuition aid to students, Salesianum is unique in its creation of a $500,000 fund to support employees. It was an initiative that was important to Kennealey: “Great schools come down to great people and we need to take care of them, too.” The fund for employees is intended to provide assistance with medical bills associated with the
virus and to provide supplemental income in the case of a spouse losing a job. Kennealey notes that “we’re committed to the well-being of our employees, not just materially, but spiritually. This fund will hopefully ease one point of stress and anxiety in a time when we’re dealing with so much uncertainty.”
To make a gift to the fund, visit www.salesianum.org/coronavirus.
COVID-19: one providing emergency aid for enrolled families and the second to assist employees of Salesianum experiencing hardship due to the virus.
A majority of the $1 million required to seed both funds came from cash reserves, with a small amount drawn from an operating surplus from the 2019–20 school year.
“No one has a crystal ball to understand how this is going to play out,” explains Salesianum President Brendan Kennealey ’94, “but we recognized quickly that the virus was going to impact a lot families negatively, both from a health perspective and from lost income due to layoffs, furlough and loss of business. We honestly didn’t have a great handle on what the need would be, but we wanted to make sure that those affected knew early on that our hand was outstretched; that’s
the essence of what it means to be a family, and Salesianum is family.”
Understanding the scope of the
school’s initial gift of $500,000 to the emergency fund for families and bring the fund’s balance to a total of $1 million.
Bill Schieffer ’79, a current
trustee, issued a challenge to Salesianum’s board with his wife, Dawn, pledging $100,000 to the COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund if the remaining trustees committed $50,000. “Sallies is an important part of the lives of my mom and dad, my brothers and our kids,”
he says. “As a trustee, I believe we have more than just a responsibility for stewardship, but a responsibility for financial leadership as well. This was a great start, but we have to
do more as a board. It’s a privilege to be on Salesianum’s board.” To date, Salesianum’s trustees have committed a total of $165,000.
Additionally, 500 alumni, parents and friends have committed another $237,241, bringing the fund’s
total to $904,141, just shy of the
$1 million goal set by Kennealey.
“I think it’s fair to ask if $1 million
SALESIANUM. WHERE MODERN MEN BEGIN. 3