By Sophia Chang
Holy Cross High School, at 26-20 Francis Lewis Blvd., is embarking on its first $1.5 million fund- raising campaign to improve the school's athletic facilities, increase an endowment for scholarships and expand financial aid.The two aims of the “Generation to Generation” campaign are to reinforce the academically renowned school's respected sports programs and help future students cover the estimated $6,125 yearly tuition at the Catholic school for boys.The bulk of the campaign funds raised, $1 million, is earmarked for the restoration of the school's signature athletic field, whose greenery can be glimpsed from Francis Lewis Boulevard. “The athletic field, which has served over 13,000 students in the past 50 years, has only been renovated once or twice before,” said Susan Fields, the school's director of institutional advancement. In addition to the tangible benefits of resurfacing the basketball courts and weatherproofing the practice track, the president of Holy Cross acknowledged that having a top-notch playing field could also elevate the school's overall reputation.”This will also help us raise our profile,” said Brother Stephen LaMendola, president of the school. “We pride ourselves on educating the whole person, athletically, spiritually, educationally. This is part of the mosaic of what it means to be a Holy Cross man.”Plans for the field's renovation are already drafted, and LaMendola said work could begin by the next school year.”We hope to groundbreak on this in November 2005,” he said, contingent on a portion of the $1 million goal already being raised. The other focus of the campaign is to bolster the financial aid and scholarship endowment, which helps approximately 130 students each year pay the school's tuition. Fields said the campaign will solicit contributions from major donors such as corporate and community groups and deep-pocketed alumni. There are also plans for naming scholarships after donors as well as athletic equipment on the field. In addition, proceeds from the school's four annual events, including a golf outing, a gala, a walkathon and a spring raffle, have been pledged toward the capital campaign.”The school has committed the proceeds through at least 2009,” Fields said. Because Holy Cross is an independent school not supported by the Diocese of Brooklyn that oversees Queens parishes, school officials are not anticipating any financial assistance from the diocese nor from any parish.”A lot of people think Catholic schools get all this money from the church,” he said. “We're independent when it comes to financial support.”And in light of the diocese's recent decision to shutter nine schools in the borough due to low enrollment, LaMendola said Holy Cross is intent on ensuring its own future. “We're trying to be proactive,” he said. “We hope to never be in the position that the diocese is in. We're trying to project into the future.”A smaller Catholic group, the Brothers of Holy Cross of the Eastern Province, has donated $150,000 toward the campaign, and Fields said undisclosed donors have made three other major gifts of $25,000 each as well.School officials emphasized that contributions to the capital campaign should not replace regular gifts to the school's annual fund, which is a pool of donations that enable Holy Cross to charge tuition that is lower than the actual cost of educating a student.”The school has been very successful in the last 10 years with the annual fund,” LaMendola said. “We try to have our tuition and fees affordable. We didn't want to price ourselves out of reach.”He added, “We're looking to celebrate our 100th anniversary.”Reach reporter Sophia Chang by e-mail at news@timesledger.com, or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 146.
