Scholarship fund will assist children of fallen firefighters
The children of two of the Wilmington firefighters killed in a house fire last fall are receiving financial support to help them continue attending their Catholic schools. The Delaware Fallen Heroes Scholarship Fund, administered by the Delaware Community Foundation, was established in September through an initial gift of $100,000 from Alan and Ellen Levin.
Christopher Leach and Ardythe Hope died as a result of the fire, which was intentionally set. Leach died at the scene on Sept. 24, while Hope succumbed to her injuries on Dec. 1.
Leach has a daughter at Padua Academy and another at St. Ann’s School, while Hope’s two youngest daughters are students at St. Elizabeth High School. They were the first recipients of grants from the fund.
The Delaware Fallen Heroes Scholarship Fund has covered the girls’ education expenses and will continue to do so through age 24 if necessary. St. Elizabeth and Padua have agreed to reduce the tuition for their students.
To support the fund, visit www.delcf.org/heroes or mail a gift to the DCF, P.O. Box 1636, Wilmington, DE 19899, with “Fallen Heroes Fund” on the memo line of the check.
St. Elizabeth School names new development director
WILMINGTON – John H. Pierson has joined the staff at St. Elizabeth School in Wilmington as director of advancement. He will coordinate marketing, fundraising and communications for pre-kindergarten through 12th grade.
Pierson comes to St. Elizabeth from the Delaware division of the American Heart Association, and he also has been the development director of the Brandywine YMCA. At the Y, he helped increase the total base of donors giving at the $1,000 level or greater, tripling contributions over six years.
He is a graduate of Virginia Tech University.
Ursuline hosts initial Wilm. youth TEDx conference
WILMINGTON — Seventeen young people and one Ursuline Academy faculty member presented “ideas worth sharing” at the first TEDxYouth@Wilmington conference, which was held April 2 at the school.
The conference, called “Agents of Change,” included students from five schools, including Ursuline, Mount Pleasant, Tatnall, Delcastle and Burlington Township (N.J.). It was organized by the team from TEDxWilmington.
Speakers from Ursuline and their topics included Jane Lyons, “Second Chances to Save Our Community”; Jessica Falasco, “Solve the Cube, Solve Your Life”; Jane Krukiel “The Power of Depression in Shaping Our Lives”; Yara Awad, “Does the American Dream Exist for a Girl Like Me?”;
Grace Nordmeyer, “Beyond the A+”; Molly Clark, “Stand by Your Sisters”; Amy Xu, “The Powr of Each Person’s Story”; Carly Palkon, “The Cost of Silence: Defending Music Education”; Areeba Khan, “Muslim, American, Female: America’s Future”; Abby Larmore, “The Shirtless Man.”
In addition, Ursuline teacher Erin McNichol spoke about “Animal Sounds and Other Tales that Teach,” and graduates Maya Showell and Morgan Taylor Thornton presented a talk was called “The Black Girls that Aren’t Black Enough.”
Sheila DiNardo takes reins as Padua’s new basketball coach
WILMINGTON — Sheila DiNardo, who coached Ursuline to two state championships, has been named the basketball coach at Catholic Conference rival Padua Academy.
In addition to Ursuline, DiNardo has coached at the high school level at Sanford and Archmere. She also had successful tenures at Wilmington University and Harcum College (Pa.).
DiNardo is a 1985 graduate of Mount Pleasant High School, where she was an all-state basketball and softball player.
St. John the Beloved band performs at Catholic festival
The Advanced Band from St. John the Beloved School in Wilmington performed at the National Catholic Band Association Festival at Villanova University on April 1. The band earned the highest rating of superior, the third consecutive year it has attained that status. Twenty-nine bands from the tri-state area performed.
This year’s band consists of all eighth-grade students. They are William Pastro, Thomas King, Leah Do, Abigail Oberempt, Jillian Bale, Keely Hoban, Toni Guariano and Coyle Reice. The band director of Ray DiVirgilio.
The band also performed before the Philadelphia Phillies’ game April 12 at Citizens Bank Park in front of a crowd of more than 28,000.
