Fun Day raises over $65,000 for Catholic school scholarships

The Scholarship Fund for Inner City Children (SFIC) recently raised over $65,000 for tuition assistance programs at their 3rd annual Family Fun Day community celebration. Over 220 guests attended the event on June 10, which included a family barbeque at South Mountain Reservation and tickets to the Turtle Back Zoo in West Orange.

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The SFIC is a nonprofit organization which provides partial tuition assistance to economically disadvantaged children attending private and parochial schools within Bergen, Essex, Hudson, and Union counties. During the 2022–23 school year, the SFIC granted 1,766 scholarships to Catholic school students in Bergen, Hudson, Essex, and Union counties.

Daisy Espana, Director of Special Events at the SFIC, described the annual event as “a really fun family event” that brings the community together for a worthy cause. Espana, said the event “celebrates the end of the school year and gives back to the families who the fund supports.”

The event began with a walkathon around the Orange Reservoir at the Clipper Pavillion playground in West Orange, followed by a barbeque. Families enjoyed chicken, ribs, beans, corn, potato salad, and a cotton candy and popcorn machine. Following the barbeque, families were given tickets to tour the Turtle Back Zoo at their own pace.

Brother Christopher Hall, C.F.C., Ed.D., the Assistant Superintendent of High Schools for the Archdiocese of Newark, was also present at the event and led the families in a group prayer.

“We are very proud of the relationship that exists between the Scholarship Fund for Inner City Children and our Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Newark, and the excellent work they do of enabling students to pursue Catholic education,” Brother Hall said. “Giving back to the families who support the fund during the school year is important, and that is what this event is all about.”