Chicago's St. Bede School grad starts fundraiser to keep her alma mater open
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Time is running out for a north suburban community trying to save their school.
St. Bede School in Ingleside will close unless it raises thousands of dollars in a matter of weeks.
CBS 2's Shardaa Gray tells us how one graduate is determined to keep the doors open.
"It was kind of a shock. It was a mix of emotions. We were like, no, this can't be happening."
Mary Sweeney is in disbelief that a school where many generations of her family attended could potentially close.
"There was the rally. And everyone was like, well we gotta do something," said Sweeney.
Just three weeks ago, the pastor shared a letter from the parish saying the school has 44 days to raise $400,000 or the school will close.
Susan Lutzke graduated from the school three years ago. After the high school senior found out, she made it her mission to keep the doors open.
"The next morning, when I got to school, I made the GoFundMe in the parking lot, like before we went in, I didn't tell anybody. And then I left it there. The only reason it is where it is is because somebody found it," Lutzke said.
"I was just totally freaked out at first and then after we were talking, you know what, we kind of like this that it's coming from a student," said Susan's mother Tina Lutzke.
With permission from the school, the graduate raised more than 309 thousand dollars in 23 days.
"I think it goes to show how close we all are and how we're a family and we're going to make the most out of it, even if it's a situation that we don't have control over," said Susan Lutzke.
So why is the school in jeopardy of closing? The Archdiocese of Chicago blames politicians.
In a statement, it said...
"When Illinois lawmakers decided to end the Invest in Kids scholarship program, they jeopardized many schools throughout the state, including St. Bede. These schools must now try to replace those scholarship funds, which will be difficult."
"It was tough, but we gotta do what we can. If we did nothing, we would have never known what we could have done," said Tina Lutzke.
The Archdiocese said with the loss of the tax credit scholarship, they can only commit 50 thousand dollars to support the school this year and next year.
AN UPDATE: The fundraising goal of $400,000 was surpassed to keep the doors of St. Bede open. Organizer Susa Lutzke posted a message on the fundraising page page thanking supporters:
We're thrilled to announce that we have officially surpassed our initial goal of $400,000 with 12 days left until the deadline. Amazingly enough, this moment occurred right as we were in the middle of our St. Bede School Fund the Falcons Fiesta Fundraiser! Our hearts are full, and we struggle to find the words to properly convey our gratitude.
33 days ago, we were completely overwhelmed with the daunting task of raising such a huge sum of money in such a short period of time, especially over the holidays. However, we were bound and determined to give it our all.
Your constant sharing of our posts and our GoFundMe site, the beautiful writing of your personal connections to St. Bede, the notes, messages, and media coverage, the unwavering support from our friends at neighboring schools, restaurants, and businesses, your presence at our event today, and the generous donations coming in from all over the country was truly an inspiration, and it's what kept us going. Despite the darkness, you were all a bright light.
Our Administration is hard at work on a plan for future, long-term sustainability and to show that we have the enrollment to support the decision to open our doors in the Fall of 2024. All of this will be factored into the Cardinal's February decision of whether or not we remain open.
The continued success of our fundraising campaign, along with the support of families and our surrounding community, will hopefully go a long way to show Cardinal Cupich how much St. Bede School means to so many, and how important it is that we remain an option for Catholic Education in our community.
In the meantime, we encourage you to continue to share our story and spread the word – we're still actively working on fundraisers and other activities these next few weeks to continue to build our fund. We're not stopping now! Every single dollar over our goal will only continue to help strengthen our future.
Your continued love, support, and prayers are sincerely appreciated as we proceed with our campaign and navigate the next few weeks, awaiting the Cardinal's decision.
We can't thank you enough for everything you have done for us. Together, you have been the miracle we were hoping for.
