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| SPECIAL EDITION
Thursday, April 30, 2020
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| Your friends at Fenwick pray that you and
your families stay safe during these trying times.
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| COVID-19 FINANCIAL AID CHALLENGE
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Due to the postponement of the Blackfriars Gala this month, $500,000 in financial aid is at risk of not reaching Fenwick students. With an average needs-based financial aid award of $6,100 this year, that is 82 students whose Friar careers are in jeopardy. That’s nearly 25% of the students (334) who received needs-based aid from Fenwick this school year, and that number is sure to rise as the economic fallout from the pandemic continues and more of our families face financial distress. You can help.
Over the past few weeks, several members of the Fenwick Community have stepped up to create the COVID-19 Financial Aid Challenge. These generous supporters have committed $235,000 in matching dollars to challenge you, the rest of Friar Nation, to come up with at least another $235,000 to ensure those students can continue their education at Fenwick.
Double your dollars! Every gift made to the COVID-19 Financial Aid Fund between today and May 31 will count toward the challenge. In early June the total will be tallied and the challenge donors will match those dollars, up to $235,000, but let’s go beyond that to reach a total of $500,000!
The Friar community has never backed away from a challenge. Fenwick students and families face an unprecedented challenge. Several members of our community have already risen to the challenge. You can, too.
Please make a gift to the COVID-19 Financial Aid Fund today to help ensure that Friar students like these in this video can continue their Fenwick education and selflessly contribute to society like so many others highlighted in this special edition of FAN.
Thank you.
A video message from our students:
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Prior to Spring Break, the Fenwick Faculty sent this message of hopefulness to their students:
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"Just call on me ... when you need a hand:" In honor of soulful singer Bill Withers, who died on March 30 at age 81, the Fenwick Jazz Band released this arrangement of "Lean on Me" (via Zoom video conference). It surpassed 14,600 views on WGN's Facebook page:
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| How Friars Respond During Crises
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First response: Fenwick alumnus Chris Przekota '00 (swimming/water polo) is a police officer in Wilmette, IL. He's also co-founder of custom swimsuit firm Tread 365, which donated hundreds of reusable face masks to fellow first responders in his department.
Young alumnus Ethan Baehrend '19 (above, right) reports that his Austin, TX firm's speedy DUO printer can produce 160 face shields per day. His mom, Diana, delivered a batch locally to his hometown of River Forest. Ethan is looking for Fenwick friends in Texas, so please reach out to him at Creative 3D Technologies!
Friar alumnus Fr. John Ouper '76 (below) has been responding to the spiritual needs of his parishioners at St. Anne Catholic Church in Oswego, Illinois. "God longs to be present to us," says Pastor Ouper.
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"How Fenwick Prepared Me for the Great Quarantine" by John Nerger, Class of 1974:
I loved my Fenwick experience of many years ago, but also painfully remember how I often felt trapped, confined, somewhat “quarantined” by life’s circumstances at the time. While attending school, I worked for a newspaper distributor overseeing about 100 paper routes and assisting the manager. This was a seven-day-a-week commitment, 3-6 p.m. Monday through Friday, and a half-day apiece on Saturday and Sunday. My job, home chores and Fenwick’s rigorous course load left little time for much else besides eating and sleeping.
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"Drawing Parallels between 9/11 and COVID-19" by Dave West '98:
I was a senior at Duke preparing for a public policy class when the attacks of 9/11 jolted us all around breakfast time on a Tuesday morning. School abruptly shut down as did the country, and we quickly learned over the next few, confusing days that several graduated fraternity brothers, parents of classmates and thousands of others were killed in the towers, in the planes or in the Pentagon.
As a senior, thoughts quickly turned to what other attacks were next; how we’d ever get back to life as usual; whether there would be any jobs for us; and even whether a military draft might be brought back and we would all need to prepare to fight a new enemy halfway around the world. Our grandparents were “the greatest generation”… would we be good enough and up to the challenge?
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Fenwick asks the Alumni Community to share memories of when the world seemed upside down and how, we as a community, responded. We want to hear from you about your experiences living through crisis.
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| Opportunities to Pray
with the Fenwick Community
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Even though we cannot be together, we can still come together as a community in prayer. Listen to Fenwick Campus Minister Mary Beth May and faculty members John Schoeph '95, Kevin Roche '05 and Br. Joseph Trout, O.P. as they pray the Rosary daily at noon. Video links will be posted on the school's Facebook, Twitter and Instagram feeds.
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| Please Patronize Our Sponsors!
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Every year, Fenwick asks local businesses to sponsor our events in order to raise funds for tuition assistance for deserving students. Time and again, they have supported us and our students, helping to ensure our children receive an excellent education. As our community faces a difficult road ahead, it’s our turn to lend a hand and help them weather this storm.
Below (click on red button) is a list of the businesses who have served as recent sponsors of the Blackfriars Gala, the Friar Classic Golf Outing, the Pass the Torch Golf Outing and Fenwick Athletics. In the upcoming weeks and months, while being respectful of local government orders to maintain social distancing, we strongly encourage you to give your business to the sponsors listed below. Together we’ll get through this, and we’ll be a stronger community because we lifted each other up!
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| Friar Classic Golf Outing
Friday, August 14
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Fenwick High School is owned and sponsored by the Dominican Friars
of the Province of St. Albert the Great headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.
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