Endowments and scholarships are key to a future of excellence

Carmel Catholic High School faculty member, Tony Recchia, remembers Alex Richardson, former Carmel High School for Boys teacher, the “Great Warrior,” for his steadfast commitment to his ideals and commitments. Alex was well liked by students and faculty colleagues and served the Carmel Catholic community from 1968 to 1981. He taught math, coached along with Fr. Kryin Caggiano, O.Carm., the boys golf team to a third place finish in the 1972 IHSA State competition and served as an assistant tennis team coach. He also helped with fundraising by running the weekly bingo games the school held during the 1970s. He died April 13, 2006.

“I knew Alex as a great warrior,” remembers Tony Recchia, friend and faculty colleague at Carmel Catholic. “He asked questions rather than just follow what others thought or did. He always led his teams with competitive enthusiasm. Intellectually, he was strong in math and reading. He was one of the few people I knew who loved reading so much he would finish a book in one sitting. He was a leader among the faculty and worked with the administration to increase faculty salaries. Even though he worked at other schools, his heart was always with Carmel.”

Staying true to his spirit, his commitment to Carmel Catholic’s mission never waned. Alex made a bequest to Carmel Catholic as a perpetual gift to our students. After consulting with Alex’s family, the money funded a need-based financial aid endowment. The specific guidelines for awarding the scholarship distribution were written with the guidance of the will’s executor, Alex’s brother.

“There is a great need for financial assistance. Endowments like Alex’s enable students who might not otherwise have the financial ability to stay here,” says George Rattin, CFRE, Director of Institutional Advancement for Carmel Catholic High School. “Even though our Board of Directors tries to keep the tuition as low as possible over time, tuition will increase. Financial aid will continue to be an ever-important program for our families.”

The endowment’s first award was given to a student for the 2007-08 school year. Each year, the endowment will help lessen tuition expenses for a Carmel Catholic family. The Richardson endowment is one of 23 endowments and scholarships directed to fund tuition assistance. These endowments helped to fund a portion of the tuition assistance awarded for the 2007-08 fiscal year.

Endowments have a long lasing impact for current and future students. To establish a perpetual endowment, the minimum gift is $25,000. However, the larger endowments enable us to provide larger or more financial awards. An endowment’s annual award is equal to 75 percent of the average earnings from the three previous years, ensuring that 25 percent of the investment earnings is added back to the corpus to allow the endowment to grow and retain relevance as costs increase.

An important long-term goal is to grow our tuition assistance endowments so that Carmel Catholic can be available to families who want Carmel’s Catholic education for their children. There are a variety of ways that you can help provide tuition assistance through a planned gift. Visit the Carmel Catholic Types of Planned Giving page to review planned giving options.

Penny Pasquesi Kuhnmuench ‘66

In many respects, Penny Pasquesi ’66 Kuhnmuench (pictured on the right with classmate Tom Davis) has always been a leader for Carmel Catholic High School. She was senior president for the first Carmel for Girl’s 1966 graduating class and continues her leadership as a founding member of the Carmel Catholic Alumni Association-Texas Chapter and a committee member for the Class of 1966 40th Class Reunion last summer. She is among the first of our alumni to include Carmel Catholic in her estate plans as a bequest. She also has been a loyal contributor to Carmel Catholic’s Annual Fund since 1992.

As a member of Carmel Catholic’s first class, she has many fond memories of her classmates and the strong bonds they formed at Carmel Catholic High School. “We were a very close knit group,” she said of her classmates. Penny transferred to Carmel Catholic from Holy Child High School in Waukegan when the girl’s side opened in the fall of 1963, a year later than the boys’ side. “Everyone just clicked. We established a lot of traditions, did everything for the first time and had a great time doing it. I made friends from all over Lake County. As the first graduating class, we had a unique experience that made Camel special,” she said.

Currently, Penny works for Affiliated Computer Services, Inc. (ACS), a Fortune 500 information technology outsourcing company, as Vice President of Communications. She lives in Flower Mound, Texas with her husband Bill and her two teenage children. As a parent, she knows that passing on her family values and expectations to her children is important. “I find myself saying many things now as a parent I never thought I would say to my children when I was a teenager,” she said with a laugh.

“…I thought sometime in the future someone would want a Catholic education for their children and may not be able to afford it. I wanted to help them achieve their goal.”

Penny initially included Carmel Catholic in her estate when she was single. She felt she needed to create a will because she was doing well in her job and wanted to make sure her estate wouldbe distributed to people and organizations important to her. At the time, she said she decided in include Carmel Catholic because of her close connection to her school. Although she now has a family, she has decided to keep Carmel Catholic in her will.

"Catholic education has become increasingly expensive and I thought sometime in the future someone would want a Catholic education for their children and may not be able to afford it. I wanted to help them achieve their goal,” she said.

Penny still keeps in contact with some of her classmates and faculty members from her days at Carmel Catholic. To help launch the Texas Chapter, she hosted its first gathering in 2005. Carmel Catholic has more than 145 alumni located in Texas.

During her class reunion in June of 2006, she saw the bond that her classmates had with each other was still strong. “It was good seeing everyone,” she said fondly. Even after 40 years, “we still saw each other through younger eyes and couldn’t help feeling like teenagers again.”

Along with the great social experience she appreciates the “outstanding education I received. The faculty taught us and prepared us well,” she concludes.

Carmel parents Charles and Teresa Bartels

Chuck and Teresa Bartels have called Carmel Catholic High School “home” for more than 20 years while their five sons, Matt ’88, Chris ’89, John ’92, Pat ’03 and Peter ’06, attended the school and experienced the “Carmel Difference” firsthand.

“We have been blessed,” Chuck reflects. “We have been part of a community in which our children and we have both benefited. So many of our friends are people we have met through Carmel.”

Chuck and Teresa initially sent their children to Carmel because they heard about Carmel’s excellent reputation as a Catholic, values-based school that was also a top-notch college preparatory institution. And, their relationship with Carmel has evolved into much more. In fact, Chuck and Teresa have been involved with the school as volunteers in Street Scenes, various capital campaigns, and development activities, and have held positions on the Carmel Board of Directors and its various committees.

The Bartels have been consistent contributors to Carmel through their yearly contributions to the school’s Annual Fund. They participated in the Carmel 2000 Capital Campaign and the Carmel at the Crossroads Capital Campaign. In addition, they decided to create a planned gift through their estate to ensure Carmel’s continued excellence for their grandchildren, the first of whom will be a freshman in 2011, and for future generations of Carmel students.

“Carmel helps us to build a better community, and we are committed to doing our part to make the school available to as many students as possible. The Carmel faculty prepares their students for life. Carmel graduates simply help us to build a better future—they are good and responsible citizens who enrich the fabric of our community,” Chuck says.

When Chuck and Teresa started to create their estate plans, they had to assess what was of importance to them. They followed a process that helped them to evaluate their personal values, family and charitable priorities, and their financial situation. “It was hard work but it was a healthy exercise to engage our family members in end of life conversations. Our children know our wishes,” Chuck says and Teresa agrees.

“If Carmel was important to you during your lifetime, estate planning enables you to continue to support the school and its mission. Now that we have completed our plan, we have the satisfaction of knowing we are taking care of what is important to us,” Teresa explains.

“Our kids had a sense of belonging and connectedness to Carmel, and that feeling continues to this day. Each of our sons had a special relationship with their friends and their teachers,” Chuck said.

“Carmel allowed them to freely pursue their own interests and become themselves,” Teresa explains. “Many of their closest friends continue to be friends from Carmel; they stay in touch,” she adds.

Teresa and Chuck attribute part of their children’s success as adults to Catholic education and their Carmel experience. Catholic education, its values and principles, is an extension of what they try to teach their children at home—respect for self and others, service for others with a faith-based purpose in their lives.

Alum Kevin McGuan ’79 puts his beliefs about giving into action

Meet Kevin McGuan ‘79, a person who really “practices what he preaches.” As an Assistant Vice President and Senior Financial Advisor at Merrill Lynch, Kevin has built a successful 17-year career helping his clients manage their wealth through planned giving programs that benefit both the client and the charitable community. In fact, he is using his knowledge of giving and volunteering in his personal life to the benefit of Carmel Catholic High School (CCHS) and his local Long Beach California community.

Kevin has included CCHS in his estate plans, he gives annually to the school and he is giving advise to the Carmel staff about establishing Carmel’s Planned Giving Program. Kevin also is a philanthropic leader in his local community. Currently, he is Chairman of the Long Beach Memorial Foundation—$150 million budget; Vice Chair of the Long Beach Community Foundation—$10 million budget—trying to raise $25 million in the next five years; President of the Long Beach Estate Planning and Trust Council; and he is a contributor to the Long Beach “Send a Kid to Camp” Program for low income children. He also volunteers for the Long Beach Symphony and the Long Beach Historical Society.

Kevin and his wife Ana Maria have established successful dual careers. “People describe couples in our situation as DINKS (Double Income, No Kids),” he said with a laugh. “We have a double income, no children and we have achieved a level of success. So, we asked ourselves, ‘What do we do with this income?’ The logical answer is to contribute to organizations where we feel we can make a difference.”

“I really like to see organizations grow through my contributions. Giving now helps our community and country grow stronger. Planned giving helps us plant seeds for the future after we are gone,” he said. “No gift is too small or large,” he added.

Kevin decided to include Carmel Catholic in his estate because of his positive experience as a student. “I found Carmel set higher expectations for students to excel academically, helping students to become disciplined learners. The diversity of students from all parts of Lake County also encouraged me to develop better social and life skills,” he said.

Over the years Kevin has watched Carmel Catholic High School continue to grow and mature as a school, making him feel more confident that his contribution will be put to good use.

Alum Chris Raspante '80

As an educator, Chris Raspante ‘80 understands how a positive educational experience can impact a student’s success later in life. Chris says Carmel played a vital role in his life. His Carmel experience put him on a path that has allowed him to use his skills and abilities enabling him to become a successful businessman and school principal.

“I really believe that if I didn’t go to Carmel, my life would have turned out considerably different than if I had gone to a public school. That’s why I support Carmel. For me, my Carmel experience had a lot to do with who I am today.”

Chris is the principal and one of three partner owners of the Bridge View/Challenger Day School in Niles, Illinois. He has a Bachelors Degree in Psychology; two Masters Degrees: Counseling and Special Education; and a degree in School Administration. His faculty teaches children who have special education and discipline needs. He now shapes the future of students who also need a caring, yet structured, school environment that encourages them to succeed.

Reflecting on his success, Chris recognizes that donating through Planned Giving and as a yearly Carmel Society member, he can further Carmel’s mission and have a positive impact on a young person’s future. He first started contributing to Carmel’s Annual Fund to give back. Later, when he became a partner in the Bridge View/Challenger Day School, he was advised to establish a trust. His attorney asked Chris about Charitable Giving and suggested designating an amount of the trust to a charity. Chris said he immediately thought of Carmel as well as his local parish.

“If people sit down and take a look at their lifestyle and begin to equate some of the luxuries their current lifestyle affords them to dollars and cents, they should ask themselves if it is worth sending a percentage of this figure to the people who helped them succeed. I don’t see how you could not give something. It’s a very painless kind of a thing, particularly in an estate.”

Chris attended a public grade school in Waukegan. He described himself as a “rambunctious student with an attitude,” earning Cs or Ds. His parents decided on Carmel because they felt his problems would only continue if he went to a public high school. Chris said he felt the Carmel faculty and staff provided a caring, positive attitude along with firm structure and discipline.

“Because Carmel was smaller, the teachers were more attentive to what I needed. I received positive reinforcement immediately. I quickly learned that my rambunctious attitude wasn’t going to fly.” In his first year, he “grew to love Carmel.” He quickly made friends from all over Lake County some of whom he keeps in touch with today.