He taped four nickels and a penny to the request for contributions that Ed Delgado, president of CHET (Centro Hispano de Estudios Teologicos), had mailed and returned it along with a picture he had drawn. Asked why he wanted to donate the money for the students, Matthew (his parents asked that his last name not be used) replied, “Because they are poor.”
Delgado is amazed by the generosity shown by the boy. “His donation reminds me of the story of the Widow’s Mite,” he says. The story, which is contained in all three Synoptic gospels, recounts Jesus telling his disciples to take special note of a poor widow who gave out of her limited means to the temple.
Delgado says he hopes Matthew’s story will inspire others to give, as well. If the school does not make up the shortfall, the number and amount of scholarships will need to be dramatically cuts.
Without the scholarships, the average yearly tuition of $660 would be prohibitive, Delgado says. “Many of the students already make wages that are well below average and they have been hit additionally hard during the recession.”
Nearly 550 students are enrolled in full- and part-time programs. The school offers several educational tracks.
CHET subsidizes $440 of the tuition through scholarships, with students owing the balance. Students have made tremendous sacrifices to pay tuition; however, over the last nine years, difficult economic circumstances have made it impossible for some students to pay their $220 share, resulting in an unpaid tuition deficit that now stands at $97,342. Delgado fears a widening global economic slump could push the total deficit past the $126,000 mark by the end of the current fiscal year.
As a result, the school, which already operates on a lean budget of $365,000, can no longer continue to fund the scholarships at close to the current levels, Delgado says. Since Delgado made the appeal for funds in June, donors have contributed a little over $3,300.
Delgado is asking individuals and churches to assist at least 50 percent of the students – “the best and the most needy” – by sponsoring one or more students for the full $660-a-year tuition cost. A local church could decide to sponsor one student – or perhaps several, Delgado suggests. Individuals could also decide to sponsor a student – or go together with several others to support a student, he notes.
At the very least, he hopes that generous and caring donors will consider providing one or more $40 scholarships and donating funds to help retire the $97,342 in unpaid tuition.
