PROVIDENCE – The Diocese of Providence and the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce hosted Business After Hours Oct. 28 in the newly-renovated substory of the Cathedral of SS Peter and Paul.
The LaSalle Academy Jazz Ensemble provided a musical backdrop for networking. Chamber President Laurie White greeted the crowd of 200 and recognized the Diocese as a key member of the chamber community.
“The Diocese of Providence through its many ministries and school system is a dynamic economic engine for the State of Rhode Island,” White said.
Bishop Thomas J. Tobin welcomed the gathering and emphasized the responsibility that every Rhode Islander must shoulder to secure a hope-filled future.
“Each of us has a distinctive role to play in order that we move our state ahead and help everyone to achieve a place of meaning and dignity,” Bishop Tobin said. “That is why it is so important to recognize the positive impact of our Catholic schools on the economy, but also support the promise of a Catholic education to those who desire one.”
The Diocese of Providence provides tuition assistance through the RI Tuition Tax Credit Program and the Anchor of Hope Annual Corporate Campaign. Ed Bastia, business administrator of the Catholic School Office, announced current totals of the tax credit program. “This year the Scholarship Granting Organization of the Diocese of Providence, Financial Aid for Children’s Education (FACE of RI) raised $411,433.00 from 22 companies and this assistance will benefit nearly 200 children,” he said. “We are so very grateful to these companies, as this tuition assistance is so desperately needed.”
The Diocese also announced the co-chairs of the Anchor of Hope Corporate Committee: Victoria M. Almeida, Esq. DM, and Bernard Jackvony, Esq.
Almeida, a Dame in the Order of Malta, is with the law firm Adler Pollock and Sheehan in the Litigation, Labor and Employment Law and Health Care Groups, and co-chair of the Governmental & Legislative Practice Group and the Higher Education Practice Group. She is vice chair of the Diocesan School Board.
“It is incumbent upon us, as Catholics and Rhode Islanders to support Catholic education,” Almeida said. “There are 16,000 students currently enrolled in our schools. These students exemplify the core values conveyed in the Gospel message of love of God and neighbor. Not only do our students become exceptional participants in the global community, the positive economic impact of Catholic school enrollment on state and municipal budgets is significant. The costs to the State of Rhode Island and to municipalities, were they to bear the financial obligation of educating these 16,000 children would be approximately $184 million dollars.”
Former Lt. Gov. Bernard Jackvony is a nationally recognized fiduciary litigator with the firm of Pannone, Lopes and Devereaux. He concentrates his practice in the areas of trust and estates for individuals, families, fiduciaries and charitable organizations. Jackvony said he is eager to engage the business community in opportunities to support the Catholic School system in the Diocese of Providence.
“Our Rhode Island Catholic schools have a graduation rate of 99.5 percent, and 98 percent of those graduates move on to higher learning,” Jackvony said. “The question for the business community is, what better investment can you get? The fact is, these are our next generation of leaders and a system that boasts those kinds of returns needs our support.”
