We were asked to share this by a kindred spirit from the Class of '66, and in keeping with the Spirit of Christmas and Epiphany - January 6th, remember? - sure you do!- this request is being posted verbatim, for your consideration. There is no pressure intended or implied; just heed your heart's whisperings. On the blogger's side, this takes on a special significance, since he and two younger sisters are ILS Alumni; and it may well be a niece - or two - may wind up attending Immaculata-La Salle very soon, as well. He certainly prays it will be so. Now the blog-podium is turned over to Maria Restrepo Forte, Class of '66.
“Dear Alberto: First and foremost, my best wishes for a wonderful Christmas to you and your family.
A while ago I sent you an email to see if you would consider sending a message to your classmates with respect to the sad possibility of students having to drop out of Immaculata LaSalle due to their parents' inability to pay tuitition due to the economic problems we are all facing.
DO you think you could include the attached in your wonderful blogs to see if we can get some help from your contacts? Let me know what you think.
Any help that is given would be greatly welcomed.
Best Regards,
Maria Restrepo Forte (CLass of 1966)”
Here is the attachment Maria sent with her email.
December 22, 2008
Dear Friends:
I just want to wish each and everyone of you a very merry Christmas and may the New Year find you and your family healthy, happy and prospering.
These are difficult times for many and I just want to take a few minutes of your time to bring a sad situation to your attention. Due to the hard economic times we are facing, many of the students at Immaculata-LaSalle are facing the possibility of having to drop out of school due to the fact their parents are no longer able to meet the tuition requirements. The school is doing all it can to keep the kids in school, especially those in their senior year. Imagine having to leave your school, friends and teachers due to your parents’ inability to pay the school fees when you are a few months away from graduating.
I know all of you have your own obligations, children and grandchildren to worry about and this is a difficult time to ask that you consider taking any of your hard earned money to worry about someone else’s kids and especially, people you don’t know.
There are several students I can think of that are honor students, cheerleaders, totally involved in community affairs, helping migrant children and going out of their way to help others in distress. These are students with scholarship potential to ivy league schools and universities but they are facing the very real possibility of having to switch to another school due to lack of income in the family, in the middle of their last year. This is a lot of pressure for a young student to deal with.
If you have it in your heart to contribute to this cause, I urge you to do so. Any amount helps since your sole contribution may not save one of these students but when many of us give small amounts this adds up and helps keep these kids in the school they love and want to graduate from.
Many of us are finding the way to help this group of students by searching for grants that may be available and we are planning activities that may generate income to this assistance fund. If you have any thoughts and ideas to share with us on generating donations we welcome all suggestions.
In the meantime, if you wish to donate to this cause please make your checks out to Immaculata-LaSalle Tuition Assistance Fund and send it to:
Ms. Nancy Gamwell
Immaculata-LaSalle High School
3601 South Miami Avenue
Miami, Florida 33133
What a great Christmas gift for a student when she or he is told they have one more month to stay at school due to donations from Alumni or friends of the school.
Anything you can do would be extremely helpful…
Have a wonderful holiday season and for those of you up in the North end of the country, we hope you are able to stay warm and comfortable. The snow conditions up there may be a reason to return to good old South Florida.
My best to all,
Maria Restrepo Forte (Class of 1966)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment