Center for Catholic Education at UD

By Lindsey Bronder

The Center for Catholic Education (CCE) was deeply touched by the great community support shown this weekend at the Tour de Gem for our Empowering Children with Hope and Opportunity (ECHO) program. The Tour de Gem Dayton Cycling Classic is a new cycling event that highlights the ‘gems’ of the Dayton region for cyclists and fundraising in support of local charities. The goal is to “foster a sense of community, history, pride and healthy living through cycling” in the Dayton region and for local charities that serve the Dayton community.

ECHO is a partnership between the CCE and local Catholic schools seeking to serve children and their families from under-resourced neighborhoods and from diverse cultures. ECHO seeks to address the daily stresses of student life and support a healthy academic environment so children can focus on learning. ECHO’s staff teaches a social and emotional curriculum and provides counseling services to the students in the schools served. In addition, ECHO has a Family Advocate (social worker) that works in three of the schools served to provide assistance to the families.

This calls to mind the African proverb “It takes a village to raise a child.” The Catholic and Marianist vision of education similarly focuses on educating in a “family spirit” and with a “warmth of welcome.” This event and the support shown for ECHO are reminders of the importance of investment and support by the community that is needed to help a child succeed in their education. ECHO would be unable to help so many children and families in local Catholic schools without the gracious support of the Dayton community. Special thanks to those who rode and raised funds in support of ECHO including Dr. Larry Funke, Michelle Sherman, Amy Theodor, and Brent Divett. We are blessed that ECHO was the leading charity in terms of raising funds at the Tour de Gem and look forward to being able to continue serving the Dayton community.