Suspended NBC Anchor Brian Williams Pitches In To Save Mater Dei

Suspended NBC News anchor Brian Williams attended the Save the Seraphs gala this weekend, a fundraiser held to try to prevent the closing of Mater Dei Prep in Middletown, according to published reports.

According to The Seraph Fund, $95,000 was raised at the gala at the Shore Casino in Atlantic Highlands, and a total of $962,000 has been raised toward the $1 million goal.

Williams, a 1977 graduate of Mater Dei, donated $50,000 to the fund, according to the Asbury Park Press.

He attended the fundraiser with his wife, Jane Stoddard, according to The Two River Times:

“This is Mater Dei. It’s been a very, very important part of my life. I had four great years here. I did not know it then, but it was the last degree I’d ever earn,” Williams told the newspaper. “It’s a wonderful school, and it should be open for a long time, for everybody.”

Elizabeth Wulfhorst, the public relations chair of The Seraph Fund, told NJ.com that all alumni, including Williams, were invited to the gala. He “has always been a generous supporter’’ of the school, she told NJ.com.

The fundraiser co-chair, Maria Buzzanco, told The Two River Times that Williams was “greeted with warm hugs. Everyone was telling him how much they support him as well, and thanked him for coming.”

Last month, officials announced plans to close the 50-year-old high school in June, citing years of large financial deficits, including a projected loss close to $1 million for the 2014-15 school year. In a letter sent to parents, officials also said enrollment had not been stable enough to support the school’s viability.

But alumni, parents and students quickly rallied to try to save the school.

Organizers are now working to transform Mater Dei Prep into a private Catholic school that would operate separate from the parish, according to the The Seraph Fund’s website.

The pastor of St. Mary’s Church, the Rev. Jeff Kegley, supports the proposed business model, which has been adopted in other schools in New Jersey and the Philadelphia area, the website said.

According to The Seraph Fund, under that plan:

“A separate Board of Trustees will govern the school, managing the development and budgeting with full transparency, while The Seraph’s Fund will provide the endowment for the school’s financial sustainability.”

A Save the Seraphs benefit concert, featuring Brian Kirk & the Jirks, is scheduled for April 30 at the Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank.