Photo of Pope Benedict XVI

Birthday Blessings for Pope Benedict XVI
A gift of public service
from U.S. Catholic youth and students

To: All Members and Supporters of NCEA
From:
Dr. Karen M. Ristau
President, NCEA
February 20, 2008

Photo of Dr. Karen Ristau

Congratulations and Thank You!

More than 1.7 million hours of community service have been pledged by Catholic students from schools, parishes, colleges and seminaries. Three Catholic students will present this gift in a face-to-face meeting with Pope Benedict at 4:45 pm Wednesday, April 16, 2008, at the Apostolic Nunciature (Embassy of the Holy See). For more information, visit the NCEA Web site and see the press release or access it from our front page: www.ncea.org. Thank you to all who pledged! (posted April 16, 2008)

Copy of the Pledge Listing given to Pope Benedict XVI

 

 

 

As you know, Catholic educators and all supporters of the Holy Father look forward with great anticipation to the papal visit April 15-20 and the spotlight it will place on Catholic higher education and Catholic education in general.

During this visit, Pope Benedict XVI will celebrate his 81st birthday on April 16.

Birthday gift of service
To recognize this special event – and the U.S. visit in general – the National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA) is launching a campaign seeking service hours to be pledged in honor of the Holy Father’s birthday.

Students in schools, parish religious education programs, colleges and seminaries are asked to complete or pledge (for completion by May 31, 2008) community service time in the name of the pope.

Project Time Period
The project begins on Monday, February 25, 2008 and ends on Saturday, May 31, 2008. Please count hours completed or pledged during this 14-week time period.

Deadline for Submission of Service Hours
The deadline for entering your information into our online “Pledge Form” is 5 p.m. Friday afternoon, April 11, 2008. This allows us time to prepare the document we will present to Pope Benedict. Pledged hours are to be completed by Saturday, May 31, but must be reported by April 11.

Thus far in the pledge drive, 385,906 people have reported 1,854,539 service hours in honor of Pope Benedict's birthday.

Are you curious how many hours have been pledged in your arch/diocese? See our list of arch/diocesean hours pledged. Click here!

Scope of activities
Activities could include programs in which students are already involved, or those that reflect the mission of the church in general. NCEA will be the conduit for collecting these community service commitments, for promoting and publicizing this project and for arranging a fitting presentation of the gift.

Without doubt, community service is a hallmark of our schools, colleges and religious education programs. In dedicating this service to the Holy Father, Catholic educators not only will present a most worthwhile tribute – but the nature of the gift will underscore the great foundation of Catholic education, rooted in civic engagement.

Who we are
The NCEA, founded in 1904, is a professional membership organization that provides leadership, direction and service to fulfill the evangelizing, catechizing and teaching mission of the Church. NCEA members include elementary schools, high schools, parish religious education programs and seminaries. Our sister organization, the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities, represents Catholic education at the university level. We are located in Washington, DC.

How to pledge
To make this event a success, your collaboration is vital. We are asking schools, parishes and other organizations to collect the service hours at their institutions and then e-mail the total directly to NCEA.

Pledges from individuals also will be greatly appreciated. The pledge form is located at http://ncea.catholic.org/ and may be completed online. Should you have any questions, please contact us at communications@ncea.org or call Kathy Schmitt at 202.337.6232 x246.

We are most grateful to you for your support. Given the experience of the post-Hurricane Katrina Child-to-Child campaign when more than $1 million was collected in record time and delivered to New Orleans, we know that the same enthusiasm and response to this effort will result in thousands of service hours in salute of the Holy Father.

A Project of the National Catholic Educational Association
1077 30th Street, NW, Suite 100
Washington, DC 20007-3852
(202) 337-6232•communications@ncea.org
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