When you begin to consider sending your child to a Catholic school, even if your child has no diagnosed disability, money is a factor. Sadly, the monetary cost for a Catholic education has skyrocketed over the years and it is a financial burden for many to have their child attend a Catholic school.
Now add in the idea of privately paying for a paraeducator, or financing privately extra therapies: speech, occupational therapy, physical therapy, not to mention other medical costs and many families with children with any significant disability are simply overwhelmed. They immediately see the financial obstacle as the biggest hurdle and often don’t even ask if their child can attend their parish school.
THIS IS HEARTBREAKING.
These children are separated from their siblings. The other students lose out on the opportunities of friendship and understanding and most importantly community with people of diverse abilities. A message of unworthiness is mistakenly given.
We as Catholics believe that every life is sacred. We believe every single person should be welcomed to the table. One of my favorite songs sung at my church is “All Are Welcome”. I first heard this song at my older son, Jack’s high school, Jesuit High School, in Sacramento, California but since I’ve heard it at many parishes. Here are the lyrics:
“ALL ARE WELCOME”
Let us build a house where love can dwell and all can safely live,
a place where saints and children tell how hearts learn to forgive.
Built of hopes and dreams and visions, rock of faith and vault of grace,
Here the love of Christ shall end divisions;
All are welcome, all are welcome.
All are welcome in this place.
Let us build a house where prophets speak, and words are strong and true,
where all God’s children dare to seek to dream God’s reign anew.
Here the cross shall stand as witness and a symbol of God’s grace;
here as one we claim the faith of Jesus:
All are welcome, all are welcome.
All are welcome in this place.
Let us build a house where love is found in water, wine and wheat;
a banquet hall on holy ground, where peace and justice meet.
Here the love of God, through Jesus, is revealed in time and space;
as we share in Christ the feast that frees us:
All are welcome, all are welcome.
All are welcome in this place.
Yes. Plain and simple. All are welcome. And that’s all it comes down to. You are welcome all the time, any time, simply because of the sacredness of you. It is for this reason that we have a real hope of creating a fund that will help to facilitate inclusion for students with disabilities in Catholic schools, no matter where you live.
Currently, we have pockets of inclusion all over the United States: some schools in Los Angeles, Kansas City, Sacramento, Seattle, Portland, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Charleston, South Carolina…but there are plenty of other places where no welcome exists and plenty of people use money as the excuse.
Our goal is to take that away. The National Catholic Board on Full Inclusion is a non-profit public benefit corporation with 501(c)(3) status. All donations are considered charitable and thus are tax deductible [Tax ID #47-2200036]. Your donation can change lives and truly make a difference . . . it can be one seed scattering hope, encouragement and belonging to a very worthy child and school. We value transparency and will clearly explain where all donations have gone with each financial reporting period. We have zero paid employees and as of this time no operating budget…this website has been created with a donation from me. This is a labor of love. Our board’s time and talent is happily volunteered in the hopes of truly changing the world within Catholic schools. Thank you for considering us when you begin to consider worthy charities.
