Join us on May 27^th as we come together as a community for Xavier Day 2020!

On Wednesday, May 27, Xavier Catholic Schools will be hosting our 4^th annual Xavier Day. When we began our planning for this event, we never imagined that our school and global community would be dealing with the challenging environment that we are experiencing today.

After much thought and prayer, we decided to move forward with this celebration.
We do so knowing that these are times defined by uncertainty for many. However, one thing remains certain; when the Xavier community sees a need, they step in to lift up one another. This year, we host Xavier Day for those who have asked “How can I help?” and with prayers for those who may be needing the assistance.

Donate

What is Xavier Day?It is the opportunity for our parents, alumni, dedicated faculty and staff, current and future students, friends of the Xavier community, and newest alumni: the Class of 2020 seniors (prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, this would have been their graduation day) to join us and celebrate the pride you have for Xavier Catholic Schools. 

In its fourth year, our goal in 2020 is to have 700 individuals make a donation (300 of which are Xavier alumni and 100 which have never donated to Xavier before), and raise $150,000 for Xavier Catholic Schools!  

There are several ways you can participate:

Celebrate.  Celebrate your appreciation for Xavier Catholic Schools on Xavier Day by wearing Xavier gear; rep your favorite t-shirt, hat, or sweatshirt.  Put out the Xavier yard sign, sip out of a Xavier coffee mug, the possibilities are endless!  Here are some fun ways you can participate:

-Post on social media using the #XavierDay2020. Use this day as the opportunity to share your favorite Xavier memory or #XavierXperience, share throwback photos of you with your friends, a favorite teacher, etc. 

-Share a current photo of you wearing your Xavier gear and/or making the Xavier “X” with the people you are quarantining with.

-Bring out the sidewalk chalk and your creativity! Draw the Hawk, write an inspiring message, your favorite scripture, or a Xavier cheer. 

-Pray the rosary with us! Join the Xavier Community at 3:05 pm on Xavier Day via Google Meet.  Click here to be directed to the page.

Click here to download the Social Media Toolkit for more ideas.

Unite. Xavier Day is a day that Xavier nation can come together and share with others the special community we are.  This includes our alumni, parents, current students, faculty/staff, grandparents, benefactors, and area parishes. Whether you are in Appleton, across the state, country, or international, the use of social media on Xavier Day allows us to unite together, near or far, and celebrate the impact Xavier Catholic Schools has had on each one of us.  We welcome everyone to be a part of the Xavier family.  

Support.       If you are able to, we ask you to prayerfully consider making a donation to Xavier Catholic Schools.  Your gift on Xavier Day, can be designated to a number of different areas, but we ask you to consider directing your generosity to our Angel Fund, towards technology, or towards one our Xavier Foundation scholarship funds.

Our Angel Fund helps provide tuition assistance for those families currently experiencing financial hardship. Gifts to technology, provide the tools to enhance and support our students and faculty with extended distance learning. Donations to individual scholarship funds help provide assistance to those desiring a faith filled education but need help covering the cost.

Your donation may be eligible for a gift match!  $76,000 in matching gifts is available thanks to the generosity of several Xavier supporters.  See the matching gift challenges below.

Donations can be made through the online donation form on the right side of this page.  Checks made to ‘Xavier Catholic Schools’ can be sent to Attn: Xavier Day 1600 W Prospect Ave, Appleton, WI 54914.

Questions? 

Contact any of our Advancement team members by phone 920-735-9380 or email: 

Bob Biebel, Vice President of Advancement 
​bbiebel@xaviercatholicschools.org

Lisa Pfaff, Director of Alumni Relations and Special Events
lpfaff@xaviercatholicschools.org

Stephanie Zinser, Advancement Operations Coordinator
szinser@xaviercatholicschools.org

The 5th Annual Tour de Francis Benefit Ride was on Sunday, May 5, 2019.
Thank you for your support! We hope to see you Fall 2020 (date TBA).

All dollars generated from this community event allow Xavier Catholic Schools to provide students opportunities for excellence in the classroom, fine arts, and in many extra-curricular and athletic experiences. In addition, every dollar helps pay the quality, dedicated staff and helps make a St. Francis Xavier education accessible to as many families as possible.

“The Tour” is about getting outside and enjoying your ride with family and friends. The ride starts and ends at The CDW Building (4321 W. College Ave, Appleton, WI 54914).  It is the building directly across College Avenue from the main Entrance to the Fox River Mall.

The Tour de Francis has 3 routes to choose from: 

• The 10 mile route caters to families, including those with small children.  There is   a rest stop at Fritse Park, with cookies, fruit, and water.  Kids can take a break   from riding their bikes and play on the Playground Equipment, or try the huge   slide on the hill.  Fox Cities Cycling Ambassadors, are trained by the APD in safe   riding skills and rules, and will be on hand to do “guided tours” on the family   ride.  The entire 10 mile family ride is on sidewalks or designated bike paths.    
   
• The 25 and 62.5 mile routes cater to more experienced riders. Both are well   marked with signs, and have fully stocked rest stops along the way.  The 25 and   62.5 mile rides are on open roads.

 Vehicles will be patrolling all routes in case of flat tires, mechanical fixes, etc.

  Click here to view the Animoto from Tour de Francis 2017!
  Click here to view the Animoto from the 2016 Tour de Francis!

Celebrate 2020 was a huge success!

Our sincerest thanks for everyone’s help in making Celebrate 2020 such an incredible evening and successful event! We hope to share the event total soon. We are so incredibly grateful for everyone's generosity throughout the entire event. We are so blessed!

What we can share now, is that "We did it!"
We exceeded our Fund Our Future* goal!

Our goal was for our 510 attendees to donate $115,000 in order to unlock $185,000 in matching funds, which would catapult us to $300,000.  Our attendees are amazing and donated $176,750!  That amount,  plus the extremely generous matches from two amazing benefactors yielded a Fund Our Future total of $361, 750!

Besides the two anonymous benefactors, we would like to thank our 44 sponsors and the 170 donors who helped make the evening come to fruition. Additionally, Celebrate 2020 would not have been such a success without the timeless work of our entire planning committee.

We hope to share the event total with you soon, so please keep checking back for updates. 

In the meantime, please enjoy the Fund Our Future video from Celebrate 2020.  Our thanks to students staff, alumni, and BConnected, LLC for the video. 

Please Save the Date for next year’s Celebrate:  January 30, 2021

*Fund Our Future is a time where we ask attendees to make a tax deductible donation.  Deacon Ray says a few words prior to a video from the System and then we take about 15 minutes during the event to ask people to prayerfully consider donating to our great school system.

Thank you!

Lisa Pfaff, Director of Alumni Relations and Special Events
lpfaff@xaviercatholicschools.org

Bob Biebel, Vice President of Advancement
bbiebel@xaviercatholicschools.org

Stephanie Zinser, Advancement Operations Coordinator 
szinser@xaviercatholicschools.org