In the fall of 2013, a person who chose to remain anonymous issued a challenge to Judy Kulp, the Principal of St. Mary’s School at 536 E. Third Street in Alton. The challenge was simple, but hard. The anonymous benefactor said that if St. Mary’s School and Church would each raise $10,000, he would contribute another $10,000 toward the school’s technology program. The donor specified that the money should specifically be used to improve the school’s technology program, enabling one-to-one technology for the middle school students.
Mrs. Kulp presented the challenge to St. Mary’s pastor, Father Jim Walther, and subsequently she and the Vice Principal, Mrs. Venardos, presented the challenge to parishioners at Masses on November 16th and 17th. The expectation was that through school fund-raising activities and parishioners donations, the goal could be met by year end.
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Much to the (happy) surprise of all, the goal was met and exceeded within three weeks! Parishioner donations and fundraisers through the school now total more than $32,000. Coupled with the anonymous donation, the school now has sufficient funding to move forward with their technology plan.
With the funds, St. Mary’s will be installing the necessary infrastructure and bandwidth to enable the implementation of a computer based curriculum, as well as replacing outdated computer hardware.
The middle school students will have one-to-one technology in the fall of 2014, with each student leasing a laptop. The school will begin transitioning to online textbooks.
None of this would have been possible without the amazing generosity of one anonymous person, combined with the good will and generosity of St. Mary’s parishioners and school families.
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