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Valerie Saputo Puglisi, class of 1968, a longtime supporter of St. Catharine Academy who is a resident of Larchmont, presented the Bronx high school with a magnificent Christmas gift. In anticipation of her 55th reunion in 2023, she made a $1 million gift, the largest single gift in the 132-year history of St. Catharine Academy.
With the gift, Ms. Saputo Puglisi initiated the Valerie Saputo Puglisi ’68 Scholars Program, a unique effort to make a St. Catharine Academy education possible for those with demonstrated financial need while inspiring multi-generational giving.
“Valerie has never hesitated in being extraordinarily generous to St. Catharine’s,” said Sister Patricia Wolf, R.S.M., the president of St. Catharine Academy.
“Her steadfast support in gifts for financial aid over many years, as well as major gifts to SCA’s first ever capital campaign, are a testament to the meaning and value of a St. Catharine Academy education.”
The Valerie Saputo Puglisi ‘68 Scholars Program will provide 75 percent financial aid to seven SCA students annually, beginning in the 2022-2023 school year.
A unique feature includes an acknowledgement by student recipients that they have a responsibility, if their eventual financial position permits them to do so, to help future students of St. Catharine Academy. This understanding of a long-term commitment to financially support the academy in a meaningful way is meant to inspire an ongoing, multi-generational effort to provide an SCA education for students in need.
Each Saputo Puglisi Scholar will be asked to sign a letter reflecting her understanding of the scholarship and her future financial responsibility to support future students at St. Catharine Academy.
“It is my hope that the Valerie Saputo Puglisi ‘68 Scholars Program can lay the framework for St. Catharine Academy students in the coming years to be successful—and ultimately continue this tradition of impactful gift-giving for future generations of Catharinites,” Ms. Saputo Puglisi said.
