BUFFALO, N.Y., Jan. 28 (UPI) -- A New Jersey foundation is coming to the rescue to stem the tide of parochial school closings in the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo.
The International Education Foundation, which runs the Catholic School Development Program, plans to provide $800,000 to Buffalo's Roman Catholic schools. The foundation plans to provide a team of school consultants that will help attract more pupils through better marketing and develop more sophisticated fundraising programs, the Buffalo (N.Y.) News reported Saturday.
Six to 10 elementary schools in Buffalo are slated to participate in the pilot project. If they succeed, the program may expand to other dioceses, said Robert T. Healey, the foundation's founder and primary benefactor, and chairman of the Viking Group of Companies.
"The problem in Buffalo is universal," he said. "There are tremendous amounts of Catholics out there interested in the Catholic schools, but nobody knows what the heck to do about it, we expect to spend millions of dollars in bringing back Catholic schools."
