UPDATE: St. John's School Fund raises $65,000 (02/16/03)

UPDATE: St. John's School Fund raises $65,000

by Kristina Rak Brown

NEWARK, N.J. - As previously reported, St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic School in Newark, N.J., is raising funds to avoid closure this June. A group of concerned parents, parishioners and friends of St. John's School have formed the Committee for the Development of St. John's School. The committee's goal is to raise the necessary money, increase enrollment, and commission a permanent management board for the school.

The committee's immediate goal is to raise $250,000 by April 15. The Rev. Bohdan Lukie, pastor of St. John's Church, decided on January 23 that unless this amount is raised by the deadline, the school will be closed in June. Since Father Lukie made his decision, the Committee has raised approximately $65,000 in donations, including a $25,000 donation from an institution that is a long-time supporter of the school, Selfreliance Ukrainian American Federal Credit Union. All donations are being deposited into an account specially created for this effort and are being held in escrow pending the outcome of the fund-raising and decision-making processes regarding the school's future.

The committee's plans to raise the additional funds include: sending letters to the school's alumni and groups beyond St. John's community; speaking directly to individuals through a phone-a-thon; soliciting financial institutions and organizations for substantial donations; utilizing corporate matching donation programs and others. Each of those programs is under way. As an enticement for individual donors to donate $1,000 or more, the committee is crafting a recognition program to acknowledge donors through a permanent public display and annual gala event.

Beyond the financial goal, the committee has identified increasing enrollment for next year as an equally critical matter. Members of the committee will be calling and meeting with the parents of children currently enrolled in the school to confirm that their children will be returning for academic year 2003-2004. Other members have been recruiting potential students, including those presently in Ukrainian pre-schools, children from surrounding parishes and recent immigrants from Ukraine. In furtherance of the recruitment effort, the committee, together with the school, will be hosting an Open House on Saturday, February 22, followed by a Valentine's Dance for all children of elementary school age.

The committee is updating the school's website and brochure and is planning to offer musical and choral performances by St. John's students, all aimed at showing the public what the students and the school are capable of in terms of academic, spiritual and cultural achievements.

The committee has concluded, however, that plans for the school cannot simply focus on fund-raising. At the same time, the committee, with the blessing of Father Lukie, is laying the foundation for the implementation of a long-term "state of the art" strategic agenda for the school. These plans focus on creating a permanent school board that will work in conjunction with Father Lukie to govern the school which, until now, has been run solely by Father Lukie and the school's principal.

The permanent board will evaluate and enhance academic programs and extracurricular activities, develop a financial aid program and continue fund-raising in a systematic fashion. In this manner, the committee hopes to ensure that St. John's remains at the academic forefront of parochial schools in New Jersey, continues to improve and enjoys support from the community.

St. John's inescapable needs at this time, however, are money and students. In order to realize the long-term goals for St. John's School, the committee must raise the sum of $250,000 and increase enrollment. Donations may be made out to: St. John's School Fund (Account No. 310511-000), c/o Selfreliance Ukrainian American Federal Credit Union, 734 Sandford Ave., Newark, NJ 07106. For further information, readers may call Volodymyr Kovbasniuk at the credit union at (973) 373-7839.

Kristina Rak Brown, a corporate attorney who resides in South Orange, N.J., is an alumna of St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic School and a member of the executive committee of the Committee for the Development of St. John's School.

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