By Emily Drooby
Flipping through the pages of The Tablet newspaper is something 20 more people will be doing thanks to seventh-grade student, Kiley Quinn.
That’s because Kiley is selling subscriptions for “The Tablet’s COVID Relief Fundraiser” where schools in the Diocese of Brooklyn compete to sell the most subscriptions or renewals to the paper.
Students like Kiley earn money for their school and for themselves. The month-long competition ends on April 16.
“I definitely, immediately wanted to get involved because it was a good thing for the school and also for me too,” Kiley said. “It’s like, you’re getting something.”
Since Kiley has passed the three-order milestone, she is making $10 a subscription. For every subscription sold, $5 also goes to her school, Good Shepherd Catholic Academy. That means 75 percent of the $20 subscription is going back to the school.
“Once I graduate, I won’t be here and I’m going to miss it,” Kiley said. “They’ve been good to me. My teachers are great. I want to give back to my school.”
The top-selling school and the top-selling student will get a $3,000 bonus.
No matter the outcome, The Tablet’s John Alexander says that everyone is still a winner.
“We thought that this was a way for students to earn money to help their schools coming out of a very difficult time,” John said, “and to help themselves.”
The pandemic halted many of the normal school fundraisers. Good Shepherd Catholic Academy Principal John O’Brien says this fundraiser will help improve school programs. The opportunity also helps kids learn more about The Tablet.
“There’s always lots to do,” he said, “but definitely what it will do, is it will go towards improving programs for the students. Whether its new resources, or improvements to our building. Maybe even opportunities to celebrate the school year.”
Good Shepherd had a unique first-hand experience with the power of the media this year. Even though the school was in a COVID hotspot, despite the school itself not having cases, they were forced to close by the city.
“The Tablet was a great voice advocating for Catholic education,” the principal explained, “since last March and certainly this fall, we were shut down.”
The competition is fierce: Good Shepherd is up against 51 other diocesan schools. Heading into the program’s last week, one thing is for sure, even though only one school can officially win — every single dollar raised is a victory.