In 2017, the State of Illinois created the Invest in Kids Scholarship Tax Credit Program, which allowed donors to receive tax credits while supporting Catholic school families.
Through the efforts of our generous donors, supported by our Finance Council, this program provided critical tuition assistance of $1.3 million over a five year period.
Without the funds from the Invest in Kids program, scholarship funding has to come from parish resources or Sunday/Ordinary Income. Supporting our tuition needs at this level is not sustainable.
To ensure long-term financial stability, the parish has proposed a $3 million capital campaign to support our school endowment fund. This fund was started with $25 in 1985, and with this effort, will support our tuition assistance needs for decades to come. We ask you to prayerfully consider making a pledge to our Changing Lives Tuition Assistance Campaign.
Each year, parish families turn to us to help make a Catholic education possible for their children. These grants help ensure the continuation of a student’s education, welcomes new siblings, and helps families fully feel part of the St. Philomena community.
AT A GLANCE
The need is ongoing and has not declined. Families continue to rely on our commitment.
Your support of the Changing Lives Tuition Assistance Campaign is a direct and lasting investment in the future of St. Philomena School and Parish.
Together, we can ensure that no parish family is turned away from a Catholic education for financial reasons. If you are ready to make a donation and/or pledge, feel free to use the maroon donation buttons at the top or bottom of this page. If you prefer to make a donation by check, contact the parish office (309-682-8642 or parish@stphils.com).
St. Philomena Parish has a long-standing commitment to providing a Catholic education to every parish family who seeks one, regardless of financial ability. This promise, upheld by generations of pastoral and lay leadership, is central to who we are.
Tuition assistance funds allow us to welcome families, form disciples, and provide a Chirst-centered education where every child can grow in knowledge, character and faith.
A strong tuition assistance source helps us maintain a healthy enrollment and continue to invest in programs such as electives for our junior high students where they can choose to take courses of interest to them like home economics, music technology, ceramics and basketball. Continued financial stability will allow us to invest in further offerings and provide families with aid that can be the deciding factor in keeping their children in our school.
Assistance ensures that no family is turned away for financial reasons.
“Not all of us can do great things, but we can do small things with great love.” ~Mother Teresa
Loving Lord, we give you thanks for the gift of our St. Philomena School. Thank you for our parish and for all who have helped make our school a great place for hearts to encounter you through Sacraments and prayer. We give you thanks for all the ways your love for us has been taught in our school classrooms and hallways and lived through our community life together as a family of faith. Thank you for all the lives who have been changed through their time here. We ask your blessing this day on our teachers, staff, students, and school families. May the success of our Changing Lives Tuition Assistance Campaign ensure that our parish stays strong and vibrant for decades to come. Lord, bless our Campaign and all who are able to contribute. May all our future students encounter you in our church and school, and may all grow deeper in knowing your love for us and sharing that love with one another. We ask all this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
St. Philomena, pray for us!
