New York Awards Dinner
September 18
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Please join us for a
SOAR! Awards Dinner
Benefitting aging and infirm religious
Wednesday, September 18, 2019
The New York Athletic Club
Honoring
Father Edwin Leahy, O.S.B.
Father Edwin D. Leahy, O.S.B., born on December 8, 1945 and became the 23rd Headmaster of Saint Benedict’s Preparatory School in 1972.
He graduated from St. Benedict’s Prep in 1960. He earned a B.A. in philosophy from Seton Hall University in 1968 and a Master’s in Divinity with distinction in 1975 from the Woodstock College at Union Theological Seminary, New York.
In 1966 he took his first vows as a monk of the Benedictine Abbey of Newark and was ordained to the priesthood in 1972. Fr. Edwin teaching at St. Benedict’s Prep in 1967. Following the suspension of operations of St. Benedict’s in 1972, Father Edwin was named to direct the efforts of monks, interested parents, alumni and friends to re-open the School as soon as was feasible. Under his direction St. Benedict’s re-opened in 1974 with 89 students and 14 faculty members.
St. Benedict’s has now grown to more than 600 young men, most from African American and Hispanic backgrounds, and 58 faculty members. Nearly 100% of the school’s recent graduates go on to college.
Father Edwin’s talent for working directly with students and marshalling an ever broader community to support his approach to educating young men has gained increasing attention in recent years. In March 2016, 60 Minutes featured Fr. Edwin in a segment about St. Benedict’s successful impact on education. A 2014 documentary about St. Benedict’s Prep, The Rule, What Inner City Schools Need to Finally Succeed, has enjoyed wide release and much favorable attention from educators and community leaders. In recognition of his efforts, among other awards, Fr. Edwin received the first Robert F. Kennedy Award for Urban school Leadership from the National Schools that Can organization in 2014.
The Notre Dame Clubs of the Archdiocese of New York
The Club of Mid-Hudson Valley, in addition to raising over $1.5 million for ALS research, also partners with the Bruderhof Community in their “Breaking the Cycle” program, which hosts school assemblies that help schools combat bullying and facilitate conflict resolution.
The Club of New York is involved in a number of charitable initiatives. They are particularly involved in supporting the homeless of the lower east side who seek assistance at the Cardinal Spellman Community Center, but also support the University Soup Kitchen, Project Habitat for Humanity, and the Susan G. Komen race for the cure.
The Club of Staten Island engages the Staten Island community in the collection, sorting, packing, and delivery of 70,000 items of food collected from primarily 131 Catholic, Public, and Private schools on Staten Island and parts of Brooklyn. These items of food are collected by an army of over 300 volunteers put together by the Notre Dame Club of Staten Island. These volunteers include members of organized labor, small businesses, high school service programs, student athletes from local schools, and faith-based organizations across Staten Island. In 28 years, the annual Bread of Life food drive has collected over 1,450,000 items of food and given that food to 25 not for profit organizations on Staten Island/Brooklyn that feed people in need.
Email Annika Paquette at events@soar-usa.org for more information.
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