More than 1,800 donors supported Prep and Villa during their Triple Giving Day. The results were overwhelming. From just 24 hours of giving, Cathedral Prep and Villa Maria Academy: $654,563.

The generosity of the alumni of Prep and Villa are a big part of what makes the schools affordable to anyone who seeks and values catholic education. Both institutions were fortunate enough to have all donations made tripled on Thursday, Nov. 12.

To make things more fun, Prep and Villa decided to compete against each other in terms of participation rate with the winner receiving the Mission Cup. For the second straight year, the Mission Cup was awarded to the Villa Victors due to a remarkable 100 percent participation rate. Even though the Prep Ramblers met their goal, which was $5,000, they still could not beat their sister school with their inferior 45 percent participation rate. All in all, it was a great way to get both student bodies to engage in such an important event that could literally change lives. Ultimately, Villa may have had the upper hand over the Ramblers because of their passion towards competitiveness and want to get as much glory as possible.

Mr. Michael Krahe, Annual Fund and Social Media Manager, was astonished by the number of donors who decided to give back. “It is all about learning to give,” he stated. “Witnessing students, parents, teachers, and alumni donate to what they believe to be a great institution makes all of this a wonderful way to give back.” Alumni were a key component to the success of this event as they did not hold back to spread the word across the community.

Many of the Prep students heard on the PA announcement that the senior and junior classes did not have many participants. “They made their comeback,” Mr. Krahe said, “which helped the school to reach the $5,000 goal by the end of the day.”

This Giving Day is planned to be an annual event, whether or not gifts will be tripled. Because it is not about getting as much money as possible in a day but rather giving the students and the Cathedral Prep and Villa Maria community a chance to give back, so that they can give a chance for others to receive what they have received from their school.