Saint Cyril Of Alexandria
Roman Catholic Church
153 Penn Boulevard,
East Lansdowne, PA 19050

Home Page              Fund-raiser Page           SOS Progress Report 
Click here to sign the guestbook
Click here to read the guestbook
 
Click here for our School Web Page and information about our Learning Support Program 

For the past year the parishes in this area have conducted a formal self-study to help determine their future.  While there had been discussions of forming a regional Catholic School, in the end, no consensus could be found. (Click here for more information.) Each of the local schools will have to stay open independently or close.  Our pastor Fr. Kearns has announced that under these circumstances we would have to raise $200,000 by the end of March in order to stay open next September.

Inspired by 12 year old Tommy Geromichalos, and aided by a series of articles in the Delaware County Daily Times, the parish held a meeting Wednesday night, January 25th to start an effort to raise the $200,000 needed by March 31, 2006.  Tommy has Cystic Fibrosis and wrote a letter to the Make-A Wish Foundation. (Click here to read Tommy's wish.)  His wish was that St. Cyril School would not close and that he would be able to graduate with all of his classmates.  His wish became a cover story Sunday, January 22 in the Delaware County Daily Times with photos and a nice article by Gil Spencer on his effort and the school's plight.

Over 500 people show up at the Wednesday night meeting and it was very obvious that the other children and parents in the school share Tommy's wish.  "I Believe" posters made by each class were displayed all around the hall, and cheer leaders collected change donations at the entrance.  Much larger donations were given by a few area companies and organizations, with one donating $4000 and a number of others donating $1000 each.  State Rep. Mario Civera and East Lansdowne Mayor Jim France were in attendance and pledged their support.  The meeting was covered by three television stations; 6ABC, NBC10, and CN8, and all three stations gave great reports on their news broadcasts.  At the end of the meeting we had a little over $10,000 in actual donations with $10,000 thousand more in pledges; there were pages of volunteers, and even the most cynical were starting to say "I believe". 

To see some of the media coverage  click here or go to:
www.saintcyril.org/fundraisernews.htm 

Click here to see pictures from the night on our Picture of the Month Page.

Please send donations to the address below.  We need your help now so Tommy and 224 other students will not be displaced, and a great school will not be forever gone.  Please check with your company to see if they will match your gift.

Numerous fund raisers are being planned over the next couple of months, as well as active recruitment of new students to help make the school more financially independent. 

Click here for more information on fund-raisers.

Click here for our School Web Page and information about our Learning Support Program 

Click here to see our progress

Please Send Donations to:

Save Saint Cyril School Fund
P.O. Box 1094
Lansdowne, PA  19050

Click here to sign the guestbook

Click here to read the guestbook

Click here to read Tommy's Wish or go to www.saintcyril.org/tommyswish.htm

To read Gil Spencer 01-22-06 article on the Daily Times Web Site click here or go to
 http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=15976908&BRD=1675&PAG=461&dept_id=18168&rfi=6

  To read the article from a scanned copy click picture or click here or go to
www.saintcyril.org/times1.htm

To see front page of the Sunday Daily Times click here or go to
www.saintcyril.org/times.htm

To read the Editorial "Tommy's saintly wish" from January 24, 2006 on the Daily Times Web Site click here or go to
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=15986559&BRD=1675&PAG=461&dept_id=18168&rfi=6

  To read the article from a scanned copy click picture or click here or go to:
www.saintcyril.org/times2.htm

To see above newspaper cover pages and read an article on our effort click here or go to:
www.saintcyril.org/times3.htm 

February 2, 2006:  The story of Tommy's wish and our efforts has spread to the Daily News, and there have been updates on NBC10 and CN8.  Thank you to all those who are helping to get the story out, and to all those that have helped us in our efforts. 

To see some of the media coverage click here or go to:
www.saintcyril.org/fundraisernews.htm 

To see above newspaper cover page, read an article on the decision and read information from the archdiocese  click here or go to: www.saintcyril.org/decision.htm 

As we close in on our goal the local press continues its great coverage of the SOS efforts.

Any Questions Please Call:
  Mike Keller: 610-543-5666  Keller1618@aol.com 
Connie Geromichalos:  610 891-1817 opalcon@aol.com 
Jim Gray:  610 284-5984  jeg19026@mail.com 

Fund Raising Committee:
MaryAnn Dalessandro  610-284-6146  mommomdel@aol.com
Barb Gray  610-284-5984  Babs1231@mail.com 

Business & Corporate Fundraising
Marge Rossi  610-622-3643
Val Kubach  610-259-7736  Val2143@comcast.net 

If you need a letter or non-profit documentation from us for a business or corporation, contact Marge or Val at the numbers or e-mail address above.

David Dodge believes in Saint Cyril School

Click here for Pictures Of The Month
St. Pat's parade and much more.
SOS volunteers at Granite Run Mall

Check out other events on our fund-raiser page.
www.saintcyril.org/fundraisers.htm 

We need your help especially in the form of monetary donations.  Please check with your company to see if they will match your gift.

Please Send Donations to:

Save Saint Cyril School Fund
P.O. Box 1094
Lansdowne, PA  19050

Many great stories of kindness and generosity have come to light during the effort to save St. Cyril School.  Starting with the wish of Tommy Geromichalos, these good deeds have continued and multiplied.  We want to capture and record as many of these stories as we can.  We hope to use some of these stories in future newsletters and on our web site.  If you have an inspirational story about the effort to save Saint Cyril School that you can share with us, and allow us to share with others, we would love to hear it.  Don't worry about spelling or grammar; we can proof read it before it gets printed.
Click here for more information and to submit your story.

Progress as of March 29th

March 29, 2006:  $260,100 in the bank from Donations and Fund Raisers.  Thank you to everyone who helped us reach our first goal of $200,000 by March 31, 2006
Click here to see CBS3 video of Tommy's wish and the fund raising efforts

Wednesday, March 29th:  At the last regular SOS meeting before the March 31st deadline it was announced that we surpassed our goal by over $60,000.  We had a surprise visit by a celebrity boxer, and the press was out in full force.  We thank the press for keeping the story in the public eye and helping us meet our goal.
Click here for more pictures from the night.

Click here to see CBS3 video of the Cardinal's announcement or go to
http://cbs3.com/video/?id=24415@kyw.dayport.com

Click here to see NBC10 slideshow or go to:
http://www.nbc10.com/slideshow/news/8369186/detail.html?qs=;s=1;p=news;dm=ss;w=400 

Click here to see 6ABC news coverage or go to:
http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=local&id=4039948
Look for the video links on the right side of the 6ABC page.

Click here to see CBS3 video of Tommy's wish and the fund raising efforts or go to 
http://cbs3.com/local/local_story_088171213.html

March 30, 2006: Cardinal Rigali announced today, at a special school assembly, that the School will remain open for 2006-07 school year.
Click here to see CBS3 video of the Cardinal's announcement
Click here to see NBC10 slideshow

We now have a volunteer grant writer, and are also looking into scholarship funding to aid  in the recruitment of new students and help make the school more financially independent. 

We have had some great fund-raisers during the past couple of weeks.  Check out our past fund-raiser page for more information and links to pictures from the events.
www.saintcyril.org/pastfundraisers.htm

Click here for more information on current fund raisers.

Thank you to all who helped with our fundraisers in any way and all those who have sent in donations. 

Click here for our School Web Page and information about our Learning Support Program 

Click here to sign the guestbook

Click here to read the guestbook

Click here for home page

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