CLEARFIELD – St. Francis School, Clearfield, has embarked upon its annual Alumni and Friends Fund Drive, and is appealing to its hundreds of alumni and supporters to help raise $237,500 for its new Scholarship Endowment.
The St. Francis School Scholarship Endowment was started in summer 2019 and now sits at $12,500. The additional $237,500 targeted for the 2020 alumni and friends drive will bring the endowment up to $250,000, which Father Brandon Kleckner, pastor of St. Francis, says will help make an education at the school “affordable and reasonable” for local families.
“It is nearly impossible to imagine doing this ministry of Catholic education without the army of passionate and enthusiastic support that I have from the decades of alumni and friends who believe in this ministry of St. Francis School,” said Kleckner, as he announced the goal for this year’s drive.
The inaugural Alumni and Friends Fund Drive kicked off two years ago when the school needed funds to relocate its main office to upgrade safety measures at the school as well as renovate the library. Excess funds from that drive led to the establishment of the new Scholarship Endowment.
Alumni and friends of St. Francis School are urged to make their donation. Donors may visit the school Web site at https://www.stfrancisclearfield.org/ to make a donation using debit, credit card or PayPal. Checks may also be mailed directly to the church.
Kleckner has high hopes for the new Scholarship Endowment. “I’ll be honest with you; it is my dream to get St. Francis School to be as near free as possible.
“I believe everyone should be responsible and pay something to have ownership of their children’s education, but I do not believe in obscure prices tags that hover in the thousands.”
“I dream of seeing our Scholarship Endowment reaching over $1 million in three to five years. From there, it would have great momentum to continue to grow,” added Kleckner.
St. Francis School was established in 1893 as a ministry of St. Francis Parish of Clearfield. Currently, the school offers educational opportunities to students in pre-K through eighth grade.