Gift of $1,000,000 Allows District to Create Scholarship for Tuition Assistance Jackson, MI

Jackson Catholic Schools Phone: 517.787.0630 Email: cludlow@myjacs.org Gift of $1,000,000 Allows District to Create Scholarship for Tuition Assistance Jackson, MI, March 31, 2021 – Jackson Catholic Schools gratefully announces Richard Neuenfeldt’s gift of $1,000,000. Through an endowed scholarship, this generous donation will allow families in need to attend Jackson Catholic Schools. Humanitarian and philanthropist, Mr. Neuenfeldt is fully dedicated to Jackson Catholic Schools’ mission of educating students of all faiths in a safe, nurturing, and Christ-centered environment, something in which he strongly believes. “Given how strongly my own Catholic school education enriched my life, I wanted to give back to the academic community that helped shape me,” explained Neuenfeldt. “I grew up in St. Joan of Arc Parish, in St. Clair Shores, Michigan. While my sister was able to attend because they began an elementary school at the time, I began my Catholic education at grade 7 at St Joseph’s in Quebec. Upon graduating, I attended University of Detroit, where I majored in marketing. I spent one semester at Sacred Heart Seminary in Detroit before embarking on a two-year draft, mostly in El Paso, Texas. From there, I entered the Jesuits at Grand Coteau, Louisiana in 1971. I eventually returned to work with my father in food manufacturing here in Jackson. The guidance that I received at these catholic schools was important for my growth. I was blessed with six years of boarding school prior to high school graduation, plus college and beyond.” The Illuminate the Future Capital Campaign for Jackson Catholic Schools aims to raise $7 million, of which $5.2 million has already been committed, due to a second generous donation from philanthropist and Jackson business leader Alvin Glick. This money is being utilized for facility improvements at Lumen Christi Catholic School and to establish two endowments benefitting students and faculty across Jackson Catholic Schools. The current planned improvements to Lumen Christi are a complete renovation and facelift of science classrooms, ushering in an improved and state-of-the-art science curriculum, complete renovation of all classrooms utilized for general education complete with updated technology, and cooperative work spaces for students, and athletic facilities.

The Jackson Catholic Schools is a formal district comprised of four Catholic schools (Lumen Christi Catholic School, St. Mary Star of the Sea Elementary, St. John the Evangelist Elementary, and Queen of the Miraculous Medal Elementary). This district is now working to further ignite Catholic education in the Jackson, MI area. Gifts such as this by Mr. Neuenfeldt are crucial to our ability to accomplish our mission and continue to support family’s desire to educate their children in a school that promotes Catholic learning and academic excellence.

Illuminate the Future is Jackson Catholic Schools’ response to address necessary, long-overdue capital improvements to the campus buildings of Lumen Christi Catholic School, and to grow the endowment funds to assist all of their schools with tuition assistance and faculty compensation. It is critical to the district’s long-term growth that they keep pace with the competition in their marketplace, continue programmatic growth, and grow their endowments. This major campaign, the first since Lumen Christi was built, is their response to over 600 recommendations of their community, alumni/ae, current and past parents, friends, and benefactors. If you are interested in donating to Illuminate the Future, visit jacksoncatholicschools.org A Closer Catholic Community is a Stronger Catholic Community.