Schools
Anonymous Family Pledges $500,000 To Queen Of Peace High School
'This gift has the potential to secure and transform our future,' said Principal John Tonero.
BERGEN COUNTY, NJ — An anonymous family has pledged a $500,000 gift to Queen of Peace High School.
The gift comes a few months after the 75-year-old Catholic college preparatory school raised more than $1 million to remain open another year. The school would have been forced to close had the money not been raised. The gift was made out to the Archdiocese of Newark.
"We're kind of speechless," Principal John Tonero said in a statement. "This gift has the potential to secure and transform our future. All of us at Queen of Peace are deeply grateful."
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The terms of the gift stipulate specific ways the money must be used. The money must "support strategic planning" and "fundraising objectives." Part of the funds must be used to develop the Randy and Nancy Pearce Scholarship Program. The family was instrumental in helping the school raise the $1 million.
The family hopes to encourage additional fundraising with a matching grant. For every dollar the school raises over the next two years, a matching amount will be donated as well.
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In a statement that accompanied the gift, the family said, "We are particularly focused on the strategies and actions necessary to ensure that the great legacy of the past three-quarters of a century at Queen of Peace High School remains available to families and students for the next 100 years."
The family wants the funds used to maintain the school's "outstanding academic and athletic programs" and to "enrich the school's commitment to its Catholic identity."
Queen of Peace offers several advanced placement courses. The graduating classes of 2015 and 2016 earned $27.5 million in scholarships.
“Our students are ecstatic about being able to continue their high school careers at Queen of Peace,” said Tonero. “We are very encouraged with the number of student athletes who have reported for their pre-season physicals. You can feel the excitement for their upcoming seasons and the beginning of the academic year.”
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