Record Year for Gene Grawe Fund

Record Year for Gene Grawe Fund
    A number of Quincy WCU Branch members, led by JoAnn Witte, have completed a year-long fundraising effort to raise money for Catholic tuition money for
hundreds of Quincy families.
    Thanks to a year-long effort to purchase gift cards through the Gene Grawe Fund, $123,750 is being distributed to help 450 Quincy families off-set some of the costs of Catholic school tuition next year. That is 275 per family, a 10% increase from last year.
    “Obviously our participating families are helping themselves, but what this program is all about is our community helping each other,” said JoAnn Witte, Director of the Gene Grawe Fund. “Because of the support of so many, we might be making the difference in whether or not a student gets a chance to attend one of our Catholic schools.”
    National and local businesses are involved in the program, with some providing as much as a 15% kickback for gift cards purchased through the Gene Grawe Fund. The program grows each year. “There are so many people in Quincy who are working hard to make Catholic education affordable for everyone,” Witte said.
    Along with the gift cards, many participants support the fund through on-line purchases through www.onecause.com. Once shoppers register under the Gene Grawe Fund, any purchases through hundreds of additional merchants add money to the annual award.
     “The more we buy, the more we sell, then the more money available for our families,” Witte said. “If people would think of us immediately before making those last-second purchases, just think of what we could do. Our gift cards are available seven days a week.”