亲爱的朋友,
By God’s grace, Thomas Aquinas College has come a long way since its founding in 1971. Through the generosity of many benefactors, we obtained our first permanent, beautiful campus in 加州, erected handsome buildings worthy of their noble purpose, 还雇了一个天才, 专门名册 教师. The student body then grew to its maximum size, 美国主要, in 2019, to launch a second campus, 幸运地提供, 在新英格兰. All the while, the College has remained loyal to its 任务 你会变成 广泛认可 as a model for the restoration of Catholic higher education. 和我们的 校友, through their lives and work, have testified honorably to the virtues of the formation and education they have received here.
Nonetheless, financial challenges remain. 因为我们 卑微, we spent our early years struggling to achieve solvency, not amassing a sizable endowment. Owing to the College’s relative youth, we lack the deep pool of 校友 that other institutions can draw upon for their financial security. 此外，我们接受 no direct government funding that compromises our 任务 in any way, nor do we receive any Church subsidies.
与此同时, we have always been determined to turn no qualified student away on the basis of financial need. Thus the College maintains a robust 金融援助 程序, with a total cost of nearly $6 million a year, which makes attendance affordable for nearly 70 percent of the student body.
几十年来, God has continually blessed us with generous benefactors — friends who share our commitment to an education illumined by the twin beacons of faith and reason. Even as He has called old friends home, He has never ceased to send new ones in their stead. Some of these friends are graduates, others “spiritual 校友,"捐助者, out of great love for the College’s 任务 and its work, contribute — and are embraced — as though this were their own alma mater.
对于这些朋友, contributions to our Annual Fund are a tremendous act of charity as well as a prudent investment. For students are not the only beneficiaries of a gift to Thomas Aquinas College. Fortified by their time and experiences here, these young men and women go on to share their faith, 他们的智力, 他们的道德力量, and their talents far and wide. Whether as priests or religious, policymakers or professors, entrepreneurs or journalists, 母亲或父亲, the College’s 校友 become leaders in the service of truth, having a profound influence both within the Church and the broader society.
The effects of every gift to the Thomas Aquinas College Annual Fund, 无论大小, 是无法估量的大. So, too, is our gratitude. As a small act of thanksgiving, we remember the intentions of our benefactors at every Mass — six each day — offered in our two chapels.
Whether you are a member of the College’s actual or spiritual 校友, I ask you to consider 今天制作礼物.The need is great, and the reward for your investment will be far greater still. On behalf of everyone here at the College, we praise God for your generosity and ask His blessings upon you and yours, both in this world and in the world to come.
真诚地,
保罗J. O ' reilly, Ph值.D.