RACING AGAINST TIME
PARENTS HAVE UNTIL MARCH 1 TO RAISE ENOUGH FUNDS
Reports last month of St. Germaine Catholic School closing at the end of this school year may have been premature.
The Archdiocese of Detroit has given the St. Clair Shores school, which opened in 1954, an opportunity to remain open and serve future generations of students.
“We have to hit three different parameters by March 1,” said St. Germaine parent Mike Kaddis. “We have to fundraise $150,000; get another $150,000 in future pledges; and have 150 students registered for the 2024-25 school year with a deposit.”
St. Germaine supporters have less than 10 days to make the miracle happen.
As of Feb. 20, $100,000 in donations and over $100,000 in pledges have been received. Kaddis said they have almost 150 students whose parents say they want to register for next school year, but only about 68% have actually given a deposit to the school.
St. Germaine parent Nicole Patten says there are several fundraisers planned over the
next week including a haira-thon during the Feb. 23 Lenten fish fry at the St. Germaine activity center.
“A couple of the moms that own different businesses came together to put on the hair-athon,” said Patten. “One has a beauty salon, one has a barber shop, and one owns a traveling
makeup business so for a $20 donation, you can get a haircut before you go to the fish fry.
“The Girl Scouts will be selling cookies, too, so it will be kind of like having a mall at the fish fry.”
The hair-a-thon runs from 4-7:30 p.m. and services available include haircuts, braiding, curling, eyebrow wax and lip wax. For an additional $10, hair tinsel is available. Only cash will be accepted.
On Saturday, Feb. 24 there is an open house at the school from 11 a.m. — 1 p.m. and on Monday, Feb. 26, Modern Cone will donate 30% of its proceeds from 3:30 — 8 p.m.to St. Germaine. Through Feb. 28, Circare gift shop on Greater Mack will donate 20% of purchases to the St. Germaine fundraising efforts.
“The Archdiocese gave us the green light to do what we need to do to keep the school open,” said Patten.
In January, St. Germaine’s parents received a letter from St. Germaine Principal Colleen Maciejewski stating financial challenges led to the decision to close the school. Parents also received a letter from Father Joe Barron detailing more of the financial struggles the school has faced in recent years. In his letter, Barron said the school has been running at a deficit of $150,000 per year for several years and that resources used in the past to offset that deficit are no longer available.
Even when the future of the
St. Germaine supporters have less than 10 days to make the miracle happen.