Save The Seraphs Raises More than $1 Million For Mater Dei Prep In Middletown

The group trying to save Mater Dei Prep in Middletown has met its goal of raising $1 million.

The Seraph Fund’s Save the Seraphs campaign “surpassed the $1,000,000 mark three weeks ahead of the April 15 deadline,’’ according to an announcement on the group’s website.

In a prepared statement, Jim Shaw, a 1976 graduate of Mater Dei, the trustee of The Seraph Fund and Chairman of the Save the Seraphs campaign, called the milestone a “major victory for the future of Mater Dei Prep. We believe this moves us beyond financial stability for next year and allows us to continue the cycle of fundraising to ensure long-term sustainability.”

The group raised some $95,000 at a gala fundraiser earlier this month. Suspended NBC News anchor Brian Williams was among the alumni in attendance at that fundraiser, according to published reports.

The Seraph Fund was established last month, after officials announced plans to close Mater Dei in June.

They said the 50-year-old school had been operating at a deficit for years, projected a loss of almost $1 million for this school year, and said enrollment was not stable enough to support the school’s viability.

But alumni, parents and students upset at the plan to shut down the school came together to form the nonprofit group.

Now, the nonprofit is working to build an endowment fund and turn Mater Dei into a private Catholic school that would operate separate from the parish. Organizers say the parish priest supports the plan, but it still needs final approval from the Bishop.

The next fundraiser is scheduled for April 30, when a concert, featuring Brian Kirk & The Jirks, will be held at the Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank.