I write with deep gratitude today. As an unprecedented wave of schools were ordered to shut down in an attempt to slow the spread of the coronavirus—you helped all of us at Seton Education Partners to respond with speed, confidence, and strength. Because of the longtime support of so many of you—and the recent outpouring of new supporters through our Emergency Family Support Fund—our team has worked around the clock to quickly provide for the learning and other needs of our school communities during this crisis.
What you have helped us achieve in a matter of days is just tremendous.
At our Brilla charter schools in the South Bronx:
- You helped us secure internet access for a third of our families to ensure continued learning at home.
- You helped us issue books and computers for 650+ children.
- You are helping us support children with special needs through 1-2 weekly tutoring (in addition to twice-weekly calls by their home room teachers for all students) and—in some cases—weekly counseling sessions via Zoom.
- You are helping us provide non-perishable food and supplies (including formula and diapers) to our most vulnerable families, many with bread winners who have lost their jobs already due to this crisis.
Among our network of Catholic schools in underserved communities:
- You are helping us provide our 13 blended learning schools with robust guidance and tools for unexpected at-home education.
- You are helping us support other Catholic dioceses and networks across the country that are less familiar with effective online learning.
- You helped us generate an online toolbox of vetted and truly free learning resources for parents and teachers who are not in our network.
We could not have done any of this without your support. We want you to know that we are thinking of you—our friends and generous partners—and we’re not going to let COVID-19 slow us down.
Please follow the good fruit of your generosity on our brand new Instagram account! You can also follow Seton on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
Over the next few weeks, we will be sending you more updates and stories so you can see the on-the-ground impact of your faithful giving.
Throughout history, whenever there is an outbreak of disease, there have been brave individuals who run toward the communities most impacted, not away. Even as you follow the responsible guidelines of “social distancing,” your support and generosity are ways to embrace those most in need. Thank you for equipping our team to do the same.
Yours sincerely,
Stephanie Saroki de García
Co-founder & Managing Director
