Impact Stories

Students at Saint Joseph Catholic School in Warren, PA, will benefit for years to come thanks to an endowment named for a beloved teacher.

Early in life Bob Gallivan was introduced to helping the poor through mentoring and teaching life skills to adults. He first became aware of the impact of this kind of outreach when as a young professional he volunteered to mentor in a program offered at an inner-city parish near where he lived in Buffalo.

That mentoring experience early in life sparked an interest in Bob that led to the legacy giving he planned with the Catholic Foundation.

"Father, we need this." A parishioner at Saint Joseph Parish in Lucinda said this to their pastor in response to the parish plan to hold a series of evenings of Eucharistic worship in collaboration with two other parishes in their region. A Catholic Foundation grant helped to make their plans a reality.

Members of the Saint Basil Cemetery finance committee in Coalport take seriously their responsibility for the ongoing maintenance and care of the cemetery and for stewarding the funds entrusted to them for that purpose. Along with their pastor, Father Zab Amar, this group established the Saint Basil the Great Parish Cemetery Endowment in the Catholic Foundation, securing funds for the care of the cemetery in perpetuity.

Although many things have changed in Oil City over the years, friends and fond memories abound for Kathy Eisert of her formative years there. So much so that she chose to honor the community that means so much to her with a lasting gift for its future.

At the encouragement the associate pastor of his family’s parish, Saint Stanislaus in Erie, Father Thomas Fialkowski transferred to Cathedral Prep from Erie Tech in his sophomore year of high school. At the time he didn’t realize the importance of the decision. Looking back, he sees providence.

Deacon Martin “Marty” Eisert knows firsthand the financial struggle many face to give their children a Catholic education. He established the Deacon Martin P. Eisert Scholarship Endowment for Cathedral Preparatory School to provide tuition assistance to students in financial need.

There’s no doubt about it: Sister Denise Mosier, OSB, was an extraordinary spirit. Family and friends consistently use the words joy and love when describing her.

Paul Sullivan remembers fondly the years his family lived in Eldred, Pennsylvania and attended Saint Raphael Parish. Fast-forwarding many years, and after leading lives far away from one another, the Sullivan siblings are collaborating today in a special way.