Catholic School Scholarships Advance Needy Children Ninety-five percent of needy children who attended Catholic schools with the assistance of scholarships from the Archdiocese of Newark will go on to college this Fall, according to a survey by The Scholarship Fund for Inner-City Children. Kevin Moriarty, executive director of the Scholarship Fund, said the survey shows that the percentage of scholarship recipients who go to college has remained at a very high level for the past three years. Last year, the survey counted 94 percent of students who received scholarships from the Fund went on to college. In 1995, the survey showed 93 percent. "A lot of students are going to college next month who, if they didn't receive our scholarships, wouldn't have even graduated from high school," Moriarty said. "This is going to have a tremendous positive influence on their lives." The class of 1997 will be attending a number of well-known colleges and universities, both Catholic and non-Catholic. Such colleges include: Rutgers University, St. Peters College, Seton Hall University, New York University, Tulane University and the University of Pittsburgh.. "We know that Catholic schools work," said David Farrand, president of the Fund and director of Planned Giving for the Episcopal Diocese of Newark, "and this survey shows that our scholarship recipients work, too. Their performance, motivation and desire give great encouragement to everyone associated with the Fund." The Scholarship Fund for Inner-City Children provides scholarships for needy children who attend Catholic schools in Essex, Hudson, Union and Bergen Counties. It also administers special programs in Newark, Jersey City and Elizabeth that provide scholarships to students attending private schools other than Catholic schools. It has funded 19,500 scholarships since its operations began in 1983. It has distributed over $6.1 million. During the 1997-98 school year, it will distribute $882,000 to 1,657 elementary and high school students. The Fund depends on contributions from private and public donations for its scholarships. The Scholarship Fund is sponsored by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark, but it does not limit its recipients to members of the Catholic faith. More than half of scholarship recipients are not Catholic.
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