Catholic Women's League donates money to CSSC

By KATIE LEFEBVRE, Globe staff reporter
December 11, 2003

The Catholic Women's League of Sioux City donated $104,000 to the Catholic Schools of Sioux City (CSSC). The CWL has been providing a donation similar to this amount every year since the inception of the CSSC in 1997, but the organization has been around for many years.

Bishop P.J. Garrigan helped form the Catholic Women's League, Inc. in November of 1911 for the purpose of giving help to the needy of Sioux City.

"They have been supporting us, in this manner, for a number of years now," said Marty Dougherty, the development director for the Catholic Schools of Sioux City. "We have a group that goes to accept the check and to thank them for all of their efforts throughout the year. They are really very generous."

The money raised is the result of the proceeds from a resale shop called the Bargain Center, located at 1001 W. 7th St. in Sioux City. The Bargain Center has been in existence since 1952 in different locations until settling into its current location in 1960.

"It was set up to help the Sioux City schools with tuition," said Barbara Kindig, a member of the CWL. "Some families having a little trouble making the tuition. In other words, we help further education because we feel that is so important."

Kindig explained that it is important for "children to be able to go to a Catholic school, get a Catholic education, to be able to speak about Jesus, God and not be put down for it. I think our country is based on God so we are 100 percent, totally behind Catholic schools."

The check was presented to the CSSC in November. Kevin Vickery, superintendent of schools for the Diocese of Sioux City, and Dougherty were on hand to receive the check.

"The very generous contributions, which reflect the efforts of the people who volunteer there, mean that many children can attend the Catholic schools that otherwise would not be able to," said Dougherty. "The money they raise goes toward tuition assistance. It has played a role for years and continues to play a critical role in helping make the benefits of Catholic education available to all of the families in Sioux City."

CSSC is a unified system so the donation will benefit students from each school.

"Our mission is to provide a Christ-centered education," said Dougherty. "We feel we do that in manner that also leads to an excellent education. We talk about our mission being faith, values, knowledge and service. We feel that those values are expressed in all of our classes and taught by all of our teachers throughout the education of a student that goes through our system."

People donate items such as beds, refrigerators, washers, sheets, curtains and many household items, but the majority of the store's inventory consists of clothing.

The daily hours for the store are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Saturday, and the store is staffed by volunteer workers.

"I want to express our gratitude toward the women who work in the Bargain Center," said Dougherty. "They work tirelessly all year. I hope that people in the Sioux City community will continue to support them by donations, recognizing that they help support Catholic education very much in Sioux City. It provides a great service to the community."