Notre Dame’s advancement department announced today that its Irish Week challenge, a one-week special alumni appeal for donations to the school’s annual fund, exceeded expectations and raised more than $6,800 for the school’s numerous student programs. The challenge honored Notre Dame’s beloved Marist, Brother Louis Plourde, s.m., who recently celebrated his 70th birthday.
According to The Notre Dame Fund director, Gregory Simon, the goal for the “Brother Louis 70-for-70 Challenge” was to receive at least 70 gifts from alumni by the end of the day on Friday, March 20, when the school’s annual Irish Week celebration wrapped up.
“The current students at Notre Dame had a typically spirited week of Irish games, including balloon stomp, plunger relay and tug-of-war,” said Simon. “While fundraising isn’t quite a tug-of-war, many of our alumni carried the spirit of the week into our first-ever Irish Week challenge in support of The Notre Dame Fund.”
Simon said that the $6,800-plus that came in last week from alumni, faculty and staff as well as other members of the Notre Dame community will be applied to the fund’s overall goal of $500,000. More than 21 different graduating classes were represented in the challenge, he said, with alumni from the Class of 1964 all the way up to the Class of 2014 making contributions during the week.
“We had a total of 78 gifts, ranging from $5 to $1,000, and we can’t thank our supporters enough,” he said. “And a really big thank you goes to Brother Louis, who not only blessed this effort and loaned us his name but made a gift himself. He truly is a special man!”
For more information about the Irish Week Challenge and The Notre Dame Fund, contact Gregory Simon ’89 (NDHS) at gsimon@ndpma.org or 248-373-2171, ext. 5.
Comments or questions? mkelly@ndpma.org.
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About Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy
Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy is a private, Catholic, independent, coeducational day school located in Oakland County. The school's upper division enrolls students in grades nine through twelve and has been named one of the nation's best 50 Catholic high schools (Acton Institute) four times since 2005. Notre Dame's middle and lower divisions enroll students in jr. kindergarten through grade eight. All three divisions are International Baccalaureate "World Schools." NDPMA is conducted by the Marist Fathers and Brothers and is accredited by the Independent Schools Association of the Central States and the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement. For more on Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy, visit the school's home page at www.ndpma.org.