ACUE schools are ‘beacons of hope in their communities’

Staff Writer

ACUE held its annual Leadership Solicitation Kickoff, Aug. 27, at the Curia’s Bishop Howard Memorial Auditorium. The Kickoff provides volunteer solicitors with an overview of their vital role in the success of the ACUE Annual Fund.

Over 60 volunteers will make calls in October to ACUE’s leadership donors who collectively provide 80 percent of the funds required to support the significant need for tuition assistance by ACUE students. The five ACUE schools serve a largely economically disadvantaged population with all five schools qualifying for the federally funded Community Eligibility Provision (CEP), meaning 100 percent of students may receive free breakfast and lunch.

The five ACUE schools are Holy Cross Elementary, Latonia; Holy Trinity School, Bellevue; Prince of Peace School, Covington; St. Anthony School, Taylor Mill; and St. Augustine School, Covington.

The 2026-2027 ACUE Annual Fund is chaired by Nick Winnike, ACUE advisory board member and member of St. Joseph Parish, Crescent Springs, who joined the kickoff virtually that morning due to a previously scheduled commitment as a dedicated grandparent.

Mr. Winnike spoke from the heart regarding his personal reasons for involvement with ACUE and addressed the volunteers as members of his ACUE family. He also mentioned the logical reasons behind his support of ACUE.

What better way do we have to lift a child out of poverty and develop future leaders in our community than through a values-based Catholic education? ACUE’s small classrooms immerse the children in Catholic teachings and ethics while giving them the attention needed to thrive academically and spiritually, he said. The ACUE schools are the perfect setting for evangelization of the faith to the children and families served. The schools are beacons of hope in their communities and allow the diocese to maintain an important presence among our urban neighbors. In contacting past donors, ACUE’s message is always one of tremendous gratitude as well as hope that they will again support this truly meaningful ministry.