March 16, 2025 • 12 mins
We spoke with Cynthia Basil Howard about scholarships for children in grades K-8 in the state.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Good morning, Thank you for listening to Community Access. My
guest today is Cynthia Basil Howard. She's the executive director
for the Foundation for the Advancement of Catholic Schools or FACTS.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Good morning, Good morning Allison. How are you today?
Speaker 1 (00:14):
I'm great, Thank you, Thank you so much for being here.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
Well, it's our pleasure. We greatly appreciate the invitation.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
So for people don't know about FACTS. What is your mission?
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Well, our foundation began in nineteen eighty three as a
five oh one C three charity and it's our mission
to support and assist Catholic archda assets and schools by
providing funding for scholarships and for special projects. This year,
we've conducted a successful annual drive. We have two outstanding
(00:45):
fundraising events, and we're committed to distributing over five hundred
and fifty three thousand in scholarship awards to both elementary
and secondary schools in the Archdiocese of Hartford. And that's
for academic year twenty four to twenty five, and we're
commit I did to offering at least that much in
twenty five twenty six as well.
Speaker 1 (01:05):
That's wonderful. I had a Catholic school education I love
the foundation that I received. So you have this amazing
event that's coming up soon. Tell us all about it.
Speaker 2 (01:16):
Well, it's quite famed. It's our big Saint Patrick's Day
Breakfast that we have annually. This year, it will be
held on Monday, March seventeenth, and it will be held
at the Marriott Hotel in downtown Hartford. We have a
fantastic speaker, Kevin J. O'Connor, and he actually was a
fact trustee years ago. It was his idea to start
(01:38):
this breakfast, and the breakfast was started twenty five years ago.
So we thought it would be great in honor of
our twenty fifth universary of the event, to invite Kevin
back to be our speaker, and our MC is Irene O'Connor.
Of course, many people know this famed journalist. So we
have some really nice people coming in and a great
group of attendees. Of course there's always room for more, Allison.
Speaker 1 (02:02):
So how can people get tickets?
Speaker 2 (02:04):
Very easy? They can visit our website which is fax
Hartford dot org, facs Fison frank as a Apple Season
Charlie Ssnsamhartford dot org. Or they can call our office
directly eight six zero three, two, five, five, zero nine six,
but they can read all about it on our website.
It really is a great place to network with other businesses.
(02:29):
We have several people from throughout our state, particularly the
greater Hartford area, that come in and support this event.
One manager said to me, it's always the place to
be seen on Saint Patrick's Day morning, so I would
encourage people to come out for a very fun and
festive fundraiser. We'll have Irish step dancers there from the
Mulcahee Academy. Of course, Pat Whale and our bagpiper will
(02:52):
be leading the way. At the beginning of the event.
The Mayor of Hartford will be attending, just waiting to
hear back from the governor, but traditionally the governor attends.
So there's a great group of people coming in for
this event, and I think people will enjoy seeing what
we have to offer at this event.
Speaker 1 (03:09):
I think I helped mce it one year and I
had the best time ever, especially when the children get
up and they talk about how they receive funds to
help promote their education.
Speaker 2 (03:20):
Yes, we have one student, you know, we have several
students write an essay about what their scholarship means to them.
We choose one who reads it. It's not long. It
just really shows the people who are there, who they're helping,
why they're helping, and what these scholarships mean to these families.
I mean, in many cases, families would not be able
to attend these schools without the assistance from these scholarships.
(03:43):
And families make so many sacrifices to attend these schools.
They know what kind of an education they're going to receive, and.
Speaker 1 (03:51):
So how much are the tickets?
Speaker 2 (03:53):
So the tickets are one hundred and twenty five dollars.
They get a lovely breakfast at the Marriotte, and the
festivities are outstanding as well. The camaraderie is and as
I said, it's such a great place to network if
there's a business owner out there and they would like
to network. We have law firms coming in, banks coming in,
(04:14):
all kinds of businesses who support the event loyally every year.
They know what this means to us. So we're very
grateful for our partners, our presenting sponsors, our corporate sponsors,
and they'll all be listed at the event.
Speaker 1 (04:28):
But what's so important is the scholarships. Thank god we
have facts are we going to be able to provide
these scholarships to these children.
Speaker 2 (04:36):
You know, some of the schools tell us that they say,
we couldn't do it without you. These scholarships are important,
and the way we do this is actually it's twofold one.
We raise our own monies at events like our big
Saint Patrick's Day breakfast and a really fun golf event
that we hold at the TPC every year, but also
(04:57):
donors have given us moneies over the lad last forty
two years. Donors trust that we will hold that money
safely and administer those scholarship funds exactly as they intended.
Some donors create endowed funds, which means they're meant to
last in perpetuity, hopefully they always will. And then we
also have funds that are created to be spent down.
(05:20):
There are some donors that want to start their own
family scholarship funds, but they want to help more children
in the immediate so it's okay with them that the
fund is spent down as the years go by. But
we work very hard to raise our own funds as well,
and the need continues to grow. I cannot tell you how.
(05:40):
You know, every year we look at the numbers of applications.
We're able to award approximately three hundred and fifty scholarships annually,
but there are many more students that apply, hundreds more.
I wish we had the funds to help all of
them because some of these stories, Allison would touch your
heart in such an amazing way. I mean, we had
(06:04):
one family who they ate rice and eggs a couple
of years ago. We heard about them for months just
to be able to afford to send their three children
to Catholic schools. Like they make these sacrifices that are
remarkable because they know their children are getting an education,
in some cases better than the parents ever had, and
(06:27):
they want their child to succeed and they know what
goes on in these schools, so they make the sacrifices.
But FAX plays a very important role in helping students
be able to attend.
Speaker 1 (06:38):
Can anyone apply for a scholarship for their child.
Speaker 2 (06:42):
Yes, anyone can, but they have to be registered to
go to a Catholic school. So FAX has to know
that it's a student who intends to go and has
registered with the school before we can make an award.
And interestingly enough, Allison, twenty percent of the children in
Catholic schools are not Catholic. There are families that want
this type of education for their children, and so you
(07:06):
don't have to be Catholic to receive a fact scholarship.
Speaker 1 (07:08):
If a parent's considering a Catholic school, what makes it
stand out among public schools for example.
Speaker 2 (07:15):
Well, that's a very good question. So for example, during COVID,
none of the Catholic schools closed. They were all open.
They made accommodations to safely educate their children. That was
a big appeal to parents. Also, parents know that their
children are going to be receiving an education that really
(07:36):
helps mold a child, but with their their mind, their body,
and their spirit. So students know and learn a respect
for themselves and for others. They are required to do
community volunteering work throughout our state, and there are many
Catholic students that are that are helping out in areas
(07:59):
if food shelter and various other places to do their
community volunteer work. Again, that's a requirement. They're taught some
lifelong lessons and our FAX recipients, for example, are taught
lessons about philanthropy. We say to them, we don't want
anything from you We just want you to be able
to pay this forward when you're able to someday help
(08:22):
another student someday when you have the means to do so.
Speaker 1 (08:26):
And I've seen that happen at these events.
Speaker 2 (08:28):
Yes, yes, the events are important. It really is a
learning experience for the students to attend as well. They
see that there are people there supporting them. They tell
us what these scholarships mean to them. It's a wonderful
day and I highly encourage anyone who's out there who
(08:49):
might be thinking about attending it, whether you're Irish or
or not, we'd love to welcome you to our big
Saint Patrick's Day breakfast and if you're unable to make
it on Monday, March seventeenth, we have a really exciting
golf event at the TFC River Highlands on August twenty fifth.
So the people who play in that love to come
(09:09):
every year. They say to us, this is one of
the best events we play in. They come and they
enjoy a gorgeous course that two months beforehand, pros from
all over the country were playing on in the Travelers Tournament,
and so they have a nice opportunity to play that course.
So we'd encourage people to check out our website again
(09:31):
or call our office if they'd like information about that
golf event. But first we'd love to see them at
the Saint Patrick's Day breakfast.
Speaker 1 (09:37):
And if they can't make it, could they make a donation.
Speaker 2 (09:39):
Absolutely, it's very important that those donations come into us
as well. We want to make this as successful as possible.
There are situations where parents can't afford it and really
could use these scholarships to help them through, hopefully helping
keeping those students in through eighth grade and then on
to a Catholic high school.
Speaker 1 (09:57):
Is there anything else on your wish list, let's say
for the foundation.
Speaker 2 (10:01):
I've learned that there are a lot of good people
out there, Allison, and there are people who are willing
to help. We just have to ask them. So as
far as the wish list goes, I would love to
have other donors step up, particularly with unrestricted funds. Why
that's important is because as I have one donor who
says to us every year, you know where the greatest
(10:22):
needs are, So take my donation and put it where
the greatest needs are. And so we do look at
the schools every year to see, you know where the
most needs are that particular year. Often we hear from
people with extenuating circumstances in an emergency situation. Maybe a
parent has died. There are some situations where children are
(10:44):
living with their grandparents who need help. All kinds of
familial emergencies come up, and we know where the needs are.
So if we have donors who are saying to us,
please take our donation and find the best location for this,
those unrestricted funds are the most important for us. Otherwise,
we do have donors that are very specific about their requirements.
(11:07):
Certain donors may say I'd like to give a scholarship,
and I'd like it to be to a student of
a particular nationality, or who attends a particular church, or
who lives in a particular area.
Speaker 1 (11:20):
Wonderful. I'm speaking with Cynthia Basel Howard. She is the
executive director for the Foundation for the Advancement of Catholic
Schools or facts FACS. They're having their Saint Patrick's Day
Breakfast on Monday, March seventeenth at the Marriotta Hotel in Hartford.
It's their twenty fifth anniversary. Please attend this event. If
(11:40):
you'd like more information, go to FAX Hartford dot org.
That's FACS Hartford dot org. Cynthia, thank you so much
for being here today.
Speaker 2 (11:49):
It's my pleasure. Allison and on behalf of our entire
board and staff. We thank you for giving us the
opportunity to talk about fact mission, and I encourage your
listeners to give us a call. We'd love to speak
with that ch
Good morning, Thank you for listening to Community Access. My
guest today is Cynthia Basil Howard. She's the executive director
for the Foundation for the Advancement of Catholic Schools or FACTS.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Good morning, Good morning Allison. How are you today?
Speaker 1 (00:14):
I'm great, Thank you, Thank you so much for being here.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
Well, it's our pleasure. We greatly appreciate the invitation.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
So for people don't know about FACTS. What is your mission?
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Well, our foundation began in nineteen eighty three as a
five oh one C three charity and it's our mission
to support and assist Catholic archda assets and schools by
providing funding for scholarships and for special projects. This year,
we've conducted a successful annual drive. We have two outstanding
(00:45):
fundraising events, and we're committed to distributing over five hundred
and fifty three thousand in scholarship awards to both elementary
and secondary schools in the Archdiocese of Hartford. And that's
for academic year twenty four to twenty five, and we're
commit I did to offering at least that much in
twenty five twenty six as well.
Speaker 1 (01:05):
That's wonderful. I had a Catholic school education I love
the foundation that I received. So you have this amazing
event that's coming up soon. Tell us all about it.
Speaker 2 (01:16):
Well, it's quite famed. It's our big Saint Patrick's Day
Breakfast that we have annually. This year, it will be
held on Monday, March seventeenth, and it will be held
at the Marriott Hotel in downtown Hartford. We have a
fantastic speaker, Kevin J. O'Connor, and he actually was a
fact trustee years ago. It was his idea to start
(01:38):
this breakfast, and the breakfast was started twenty five years ago.
So we thought it would be great in honor of
our twenty fifth universary of the event, to invite Kevin
back to be our speaker, and our MC is Irene O'Connor.
Of course, many people know this famed journalist. So we
have some really nice people coming in and a great
group of attendees. Of course there's always room for more, Allison.
Speaker 1 (02:02):
So how can people get tickets?
Speaker 2 (02:04):
Very easy? They can visit our website which is fax
Hartford dot org, facs Fison frank as a Apple Season
Charlie Ssnsamhartford dot org. Or they can call our office
directly eight six zero three, two, five, five, zero nine six,
but they can read all about it on our website.
It really is a great place to network with other businesses.
(02:29):
We have several people from throughout our state, particularly the
greater Hartford area, that come in and support this event.
One manager said to me, it's always the place to
be seen on Saint Patrick's Day morning, so I would
encourage people to come out for a very fun and
festive fundraiser. We'll have Irish step dancers there from the
Mulcahee Academy. Of course, Pat Whale and our bagpiper will
(02:52):
be leading the way. At the beginning of the event.
The Mayor of Hartford will be attending, just waiting to
hear back from the governor, but traditionally the governor attends.
So there's a great group of people coming in for
this event, and I think people will enjoy seeing what
we have to offer at this event.
Speaker 1 (03:09):
I think I helped mce it one year and I
had the best time ever, especially when the children get
up and they talk about how they receive funds to
help promote their education.
Speaker 2 (03:20):
Yes, we have one student, you know, we have several
students write an essay about what their scholarship means to them.
We choose one who reads it. It's not long. It
just really shows the people who are there, who they're helping,
why they're helping, and what these scholarships mean to these families.
I mean, in many cases, families would not be able
to attend these schools without the assistance from these scholarships.
(03:43):
And families make so many sacrifices to attend these schools.
They know what kind of an education they're going to receive, and.
Speaker 1 (03:51):
So how much are the tickets?
Speaker 2 (03:53):
So the tickets are one hundred and twenty five dollars.
They get a lovely breakfast at the Marriotte, and the
festivities are outstanding as well. The camaraderie is and as
I said, it's such a great place to network if
there's a business owner out there and they would like
to network. We have law firms coming in, banks coming in,
(04:14):
all kinds of businesses who support the event loyally every year.
They know what this means to us. So we're very
grateful for our partners, our presenting sponsors, our corporate sponsors,
and they'll all be listed at the event.
Speaker 1 (04:28):
But what's so important is the scholarships. Thank god we
have facts are we going to be able to provide
these scholarships to these children.
Speaker 2 (04:36):
You know, some of the schools tell us that they say,
we couldn't do it without you. These scholarships are important,
and the way we do this is actually it's twofold one.
We raise our own monies at events like our big
Saint Patrick's Day breakfast and a really fun golf event
that we hold at the TPC every year, but also
(04:57):
donors have given us moneies over the lad last forty
two years. Donors trust that we will hold that money
safely and administer those scholarship funds exactly as they intended.
Some donors create endowed funds, which means they're meant to
last in perpetuity, hopefully they always will. And then we
also have funds that are created to be spent down.
(05:20):
There are some donors that want to start their own
family scholarship funds, but they want to help more children
in the immediate so it's okay with them that the
fund is spent down as the years go by. But
we work very hard to raise our own funds as well,
and the need continues to grow. I cannot tell you how.
(05:40):
You know, every year we look at the numbers of applications.
We're able to award approximately three hundred and fifty scholarships annually,
but there are many more students that apply, hundreds more.
I wish we had the funds to help all of
them because some of these stories, Allison would touch your
heart in such an amazing way. I mean, we had
(06:04):
one family who they ate rice and eggs a couple
of years ago. We heard about them for months just
to be able to afford to send their three children
to Catholic schools. Like they make these sacrifices that are
remarkable because they know their children are getting an education,
in some cases better than the parents ever had, and
(06:27):
they want their child to succeed and they know what
goes on in these schools, so they make the sacrifices.
But FAX plays a very important role in helping students
be able to attend.
Speaker 1 (06:38):
Can anyone apply for a scholarship for their child.
Speaker 2 (06:42):
Yes, anyone can, but they have to be registered to
go to a Catholic school. So FAX has to know
that it's a student who intends to go and has
registered with the school before we can make an award.
And interestingly enough, Allison, twenty percent of the children in
Catholic schools are not Catholic. There are families that want
this type of education for their children, and so you
(07:06):
don't have to be Catholic to receive a fact scholarship.
Speaker 1 (07:08):
If a parent's considering a Catholic school, what makes it
stand out among public schools for example.
Speaker 2 (07:15):
Well, that's a very good question. So for example, during COVID,
none of the Catholic schools closed. They were all open.
They made accommodations to safely educate their children. That was
a big appeal to parents. Also, parents know that their
children are going to be receiving an education that really
(07:36):
helps mold a child, but with their their mind, their body,
and their spirit. So students know and learn a respect
for themselves and for others. They are required to do
community volunteering work throughout our state, and there are many
Catholic students that are that are helping out in areas
(07:59):
if food shelter and various other places to do their
community volunteer work. Again, that's a requirement. They're taught some
lifelong lessons and our FAX recipients, for example, are taught
lessons about philanthropy. We say to them, we don't want
anything from you We just want you to be able
to pay this forward when you're able to someday help
(08:22):
another student someday when you have the means to do so.
Speaker 1 (08:26):
And I've seen that happen at these events.
Speaker 2 (08:28):
Yes, yes, the events are important. It really is a
learning experience for the students to attend as well. They
see that there are people there supporting them. They tell
us what these scholarships mean to them. It's a wonderful
day and I highly encourage anyone who's out there who
(08:49):
might be thinking about attending it, whether you're Irish or
or not, we'd love to welcome you to our big
Saint Patrick's Day breakfast and if you're unable to make
it on Monday, March seventeenth, we have a really exciting
golf event at the TFC River Highlands on August twenty fifth.
So the people who play in that love to come
(09:09):
every year. They say to us, this is one of
the best events we play in. They come and they
enjoy a gorgeous course that two months beforehand, pros from
all over the country were playing on in the Travelers Tournament,
and so they have a nice opportunity to play that course.
So we'd encourage people to check out our website again
(09:31):
or call our office if they'd like information about that
golf event. But first we'd love to see them at
the Saint Patrick's Day breakfast.
Speaker 1 (09:37):
And if they can't make it, could they make a donation.
Speaker 2 (09:39):
Absolutely, it's very important that those donations come into us
as well. We want to make this as successful as possible.
There are situations where parents can't afford it and really
could use these scholarships to help them through, hopefully helping
keeping those students in through eighth grade and then on
to a Catholic high school.
Speaker 1 (09:57):
Is there anything else on your wish list, let's say
for the foundation.
Speaker 2 (10:01):
I've learned that there are a lot of good people
out there, Allison, and there are people who are willing
to help. We just have to ask them. So as
far as the wish list goes, I would love to
have other donors step up, particularly with unrestricted funds. Why
that's important is because as I have one donor who
says to us every year, you know where the greatest
(10:22):
needs are, So take my donation and put it where
the greatest needs are. And so we do look at
the schools every year to see, you know where the
most needs are that particular year. Often we hear from
people with extenuating circumstances in an emergency situation. Maybe a
parent has died. There are some situations where children are
(10:44):
living with their grandparents who need help. All kinds of
familial emergencies come up, and we know where the needs are.
So if we have donors who are saying to us,
please take our donation and find the best location for this,
those unrestricted funds are the most important for us. Otherwise,
we do have donors that are very specific about their requirements.
(11:07):
Certain donors may say I'd like to give a scholarship,
and I'd like it to be to a student of
a particular nationality, or who attends a particular church, or
who lives in a particular area.
Speaker 1 (11:20):
Wonderful. I'm speaking with Cynthia Basel Howard. She is the
executive director for the Foundation for the Advancement of Catholic
Schools or facts FACS. They're having their Saint Patrick's Day
Breakfast on Monday, March seventeenth at the Marriotta Hotel in Hartford.
It's their twenty fifth anniversary. Please attend this event. If
(11:40):
you'd like more information, go to FAX Hartford dot org.
That's FACS Hartford dot org. Cynthia, thank you so much
for being here today.
Speaker 2 (11:49):
It's my pleasure. Allison and on behalf of our entire
board and staff. We thank you for giving us the
opportunity to talk about fact mission, and I encourage your
listeners to give us a call. We'd love to speak
with that ch
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