By Jessica Able, Record Staff Writer
A new privately-sponsored fund will honor Catholic elementary school teachers in the Archdiocese of Louisville who reach milestone anniversaries of teaching.
The St. Katharine Drexel Award, accompanied by at least $500, will be given to all archdiocesan teachers upon reaching 20, 25, 30, 35, 40 and 45-plus years of service.
The fund was established by a husband and wife who are parishioners in the Archdiocese of Louisville. They wish to remain anonymous.
The award sponsors said they created it in order “to show our appreciation and gratitude for their dedication, commitment and sacrifice to Catholic education.”
“I think many times they do not get the credit they deserve. They are teaching our youth, which is very important. And our Catholic schools are tremendously important,” they said.
The couple said they “applaud what the Catholic Education Foundation is doing for students” and wanted to also show support for Catholic educators.
The educators will be honored at the annual teachers’ recognition luncheon held in the fall. This year’s luncheon will be on Nov. 8.
The fund is named in honor of St. Katharine Drexel, the daughter of a wealthy Philadelphia banker. She received marriage proposals but desired to be a contemplative nun. She used her inheritance to establish numerous missions and schools for Native Americans and African Americans. She was canonized in 2000.
Those who wish to contribute to the fund may do so by visiting cflfund.net/netcommunity/myfund-pages/drexelfund.
The fund is set up through the Community Foundation of Louisville in order to keep overhead costs low. All donations are tax deductible and 100 percent of gifts will be used for teacher awards.
For more information, send an email to SaintKatharineDrexelFund@gmail.com.
