Padua Franciscan High School set a new school record collecting $36,409 in cash, in addition to donations, for families and charities in need. Throughout the month of December, our students, faculty, staff and alumni participated in our Christmas For Others campaign. CFO is a program designed to make the holidays brighter for the less fortunate. It is the largest student-run fundraiser in Northeast Ohio.
Padua distributed the money ($36,409) and goods during our CFO Liturgy on Friday, December 20, 2019. Non-profits, inner-city schools, local food pantries, animal shelters and many others (listed below) received their donations.
- A Special Wish
- Achievement Center for Children
- Advent for Others
- American Red Cross
- Birth Care of Medina County
- Bishop William Cosgrove Center
- El Salvador Mission Trip
- Kick-It (for Childhood Cancer)
- Maggie’s Place
- Make a Wish
- Matt Talbot Inn
- May Dugan Center
- Parma Animal Shelter
- Parma Heights Food Pantry
- Parma Hunger Center
- Parma Project Cheer
- Promise for Haiti
- Providence House
- St. Francis School (Cleveland)
- St. Joseph’s Home
- St. Herman’s
- UH Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital
- Visiting Nurse Association
- West Side Catholic Center
- William Cosgrove Center
Our students raised funds in a number of ways. The most exciting was our Coin Wars competition. This year, in 18 minutes, we collected over $11,194 cash for local charities and families in need. Students went door-to-door in our neighborhood to collect canned goods for local food pantries. Our Italian Club hosted a Spaghetti Dinner. Spanish Club sold nachos. German Club sold root beer floats. We had a students vs. faculty volleyball game, where $1 admission went to a good cause. We also had a blood drive, where students and faculty helped save 87 lives. Our main lobby was full of large bins to collect toys, books, coats, mittens, hats, scarves, socks, blankets and food.
For 48 years, the Padua community has come together in the Franciscan spirit of giving. Since its inception in 1971, CFO has raised over $500,000 for charity. CFO is the largest student-run outreach program in Northeast Ohio. It is sponsored, organized and operated by the students, under the direction of Padua’s Key (Kiwanis) Club.
