A new trend is sparking up across the nation – Jewish philanthropists donating their time and money to Catholic schools.
According to the Boston Globe, while Jewish benefactors donate to many organizations and combined philanthropies that support Jewish day schools, they are also increasingly giving money to the Catholic education system.
"Whoever it is that wants to step up and provide a nurturing environment for at-risk youth based on Judeo-Christian values, I’m with you all the way," Boston-based real estate agent Richard J. Henken told the Globe.
Henken grew up in a conservative Jewish household, but now sits on the board of the Catholic Schools Foundation and gives more than $20,000 a year to Catholic education. While Henken admits that he got "a couple of funny looks" from his Jewish friends when he decided to join the board, he understands that his contributions provide enormous financial support to parochial institutions that are struggling in the weak economy.
"The whole notion of asking ‘What would Jesus do?’ – it seems to me whether you take him as Lord and savior or not, if you follow his guidelines, you would do okay," Henken said.
Most Jewish donors that give to Catholic organizations also donate to Jewish nonprofits, the Globe reports, but are passionate about Catholic schools in particular because they provide an excellent education to even the neediest children. And Catholic education is not just limited to Catholic children – according to the Globe, an estimated 20 percent of the 45,000 children who attend Catholic schools in the Boston area do not practice the religion.
The Globe also mentions Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley, who was able to reopen Catholic schools in the Virgin Islands just a month after a deadly hurricane, thanks to generous donations from Jewish benefactor Leon Hess, founder of the Hess Corporation. The public schools in the area were closed for two years.
According to the National Survey of Religious Identification, approximately 24.5 percent of American adults are Catholic, while just 1.3 percent are Jewish.