Our Mother of Perpetual Help School in Ephrata, PA raised over $162,000 during the 2020 Extra Ordinary Give, a one-day giving event run by the Lancaster County Community Foundation. The grand total raised, including online donations, offline donations, cash prizes and stretch funds was $162,969.88.
The Extra Give was a wonderful day where the OMPH School community of parents, parishioners, alumni and friends all came together to support The Fund for OMPH School, which provides tuition assistance to families as well as the financial support needed to expand the educational offerings at the school.
OMPH School placed 14th out of the 522 non-profits who participated in the Extra Give, with over 470 donors from 14 different states choosing to give that day.
Planning for the event began in the Summer of 2020, with the school using social media posts, direct mail, and signage throughout the OMPH campus to alert parishioners and local residents that the event was happening. On the day of the Extra Give, Father Jim Szobonya, C.Ss.R., Associate Pastor of Our Mother of Perpetual Help Parish, joined faculty and students in cheering on the progress with cheers and pom-poms. School-wide announcements of the donations were made over the intercom every hour, and teachers handed out note cards with QR codes so parents could donate from their cell phones. At the end of the school day, parents joined in the celebration by honking their horns in the dismissal car line and “high-fiving” teachers and staff. The excitement throughout the school day was amazing!
With the success of the Extra Give, OMPH School is expanding their Preschool Program for the 2021-22 school year and will be offering full-day Preschool (age 3) and full-day Pre-Kindergarten (age 4), in addition to the full-day Kindergarten already offered.
The tuition assistance provided by the money raised during the Extra Give will allow many more families to afford a Catholic education for their children. OMPH School is grateful for the opportunity to participate in this one day of giving, and also thankful for all those who donated and supported OMPH during the Extra Give!
By Jen Francis, Director of Marketing and Enrollment, Our Mother of Perpetual Help Catholic School