Press Release September 3, 2013Contact: Gregory Floyd 973 984-9600 gfloyd@tcsfund.org
AS A NEW SCHOOL YEAR BEGINS, PATERSON PRINCIPAL LAUDS WORK OF TRI-COUNTY SCHOLARSHIP FUND
Lelia Pappas, Principal of Blessed Sacrament School in Paterson, sees how Tri-County Scholarship Fund (TCSF) makes a difference in the lives and education of many of the areas’ financially disadvantaged kids and their parents.
For 60 years, Blessed Sacrament School in Paterson, NJ has offered parents a high quality, values based education. But in recent years, Principal Lelia Pappas has seen it become more difficult for families of limited financial means to choose a school that they feel best fits their child’s unique learning needs. According to Pappas, that’s where Tri-County has made a difference.
For more than thirty years, Tri-County Scholarship Fund has fought to provide educational opportunities for financially disadvantaged K-12th grade children in Morris, Passaic and Sussex counties. Since its founding in 1981, Tri-County has provided more than $20,000,000 in scholarships to thousands of the neediest children, the majority of whom come from families that live at or below the poverty level. Scholarships are awarded on the basis of financial need and help students of all races, religions and backgrounds to attend private schools in grades K through twelve.
Tri-County’s aim is to change lives, one student at a time. Tri-County’s President, Gregory Floyd, says that Tri-County’s mission focuses on providing scholarships to primary and secondary school education. According to Mr. Floyd, “Tri-County aims to provide an essential opportunity for kids from all walks of life to attend a high quality private school in the formative years of grades K-12.”
This year, as Ms. Pappas prepares Blessed Sacrament School to open its doors for another school year, she takes comfort in the opportunity that TCSF Scholarships provide to many of her students. “I’m so proud of the work that Tri-County does and the difference it makes in the lives of our students and their parents,” said Ms. Pappas.
This year alone, 500 children from Paterson and throughout Morris, Passaic and Sussex Counties will receive Tri-County scholarships and continue the journey to a quality education. When given the opportunity, many Tri-County scholarship recipeints have excelled. In the past two years, 96% of Tri-County seniors graduated from high school and nearly all of that group headed straight to college in the Fall. Among their accomplishments are scholarships to UCLA and Rutgers University.
The majority of scholarships are funded by donations raised through Tri-County’s Annual Awards Dinner. “The Dinner is so important to Tri-County’s success,” said Ms. Pappas, “and it’s a wonderfully uplifting night because so many individuals and corporate sponsors come out to strongly support Tri-County’s mission.”
This year’s Annual Awards Dinner is scheduled for October 28, 2013 at the Hanover Marriott. TCSF hopes to meet its goal of raising more than $800,000 at the Dinner, which honors John C. Parry, CEO and board member of Solix, Inc., Sr. Francis Raftery, S.C., President Emerita of the College of St. Elizabeth and Walter and Irene Crum, who have served a combined total of more than 50 years teaching at Oratory Preparatory School.
Tri-County Scholarship Fund is a New Jersey-based not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization, that is neither religious nor sectarian. Through its scholarships, it has opened the door to a brighter future for thousands of New Jersey children.
For more information about TCSF or the Annual Awards Dinner, for interview opportunities or to make a donation, please contact Gregory Floyd at (973) 984-9600 (gfloyd@tcsfund.org) or visit Tri-County’s web site at http://www.tcsfund.org.