Letter from the Chair
Alumni and Friends,
Close your eyes and think back to a time when gasoline prices were just 17¢ per gallon and the average hourly wage was 70¢ an hour. Postwar prosperity was underway and Kansas City provided a home to many immigrant families from Ireland and Eastern Europe. Working in the city’s meat-packing houses and other manual labor, the vast majority of those individuals never dreamed of earning a college degree. However, because of a bold vision from the Benedictine Sisters of Mount St. Scholastica and the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas, this was about to change.
The sisters recognized the need to create a Catholic community college to serve the urban core of Kansas City and provide those immigrant workers with an opportunity to receive a college education. When the Archdiocese generously offered a building, their vision became a reality. This reality took form sixty years ago with the founding of Donnelly College in 1949.
As a proud member of Donnelly’s Board of Trustees, I would like to invite each of you to celebrate Donnelly’s 60th anniversary, as well as the continued success of a college that is truly unmatched. A college that, despite opportunities to relocate, has consistently taken “The Road Less Traveled,” determined to carry on its original mission of providing education in the heart of KCK.
Archbishops Donnelly, Hunkeler, Strecker, Keleher and Naumann have each demonstrated significant commitments that enabled Donnelly to reach this 60th-year milestone. To honor their achievements, Donnelly will be hosting its Third Annual Scholarship Dinner on September 26, 2009, at the Jack Reardon Convention Center in downtown KCK. We are excited to commemorate not only “The Road Less Traveled” by Donnelly, but also our event honorees – the five Archbishops of the Diocese.
Our event goal is to raise $160,000 to create an Endowed Scholarship in the Archbishops’ names and to support our annual scholarship fund. For most Donnelly students, cost – not ability – is the single biggest hurdle of achieving a college education. The Scholarship Dinner provides necessary scholarship dollars directly to students, allowing them access to a private education.
Now open your eyes to the present day, where gas has been as high as $4.00 per gallon and the average hourly wage is not enough to cover a meal for a family. The community is still filled with immigrant families, now from all ends of the globe, and other families with limited financial resources who are utilizing the wonderful outlet at Donnelly College to earn their college degrees. Please consider attending or sponsoring a table at this momentous event. You have an opportunity to give a young person the biggest gift you can give – an education. Don’t miss your chance to change someone’s life, and the lives of future generations.
Sincere regards,
Robert Bartunek
Scholarship Dinner Chairman & Donnelly Trustee
Seigfreid Bingham Levy Selzer & Gee