Russell J. Salvatore will once again make a huge difference in the Western New York community. He has made a substantial gift to St. Mary’s High School in Lancaster to help the school make up the deficit left by the Diocesan cuts announced last April.
Salvatore has been a friend to the town and village of Lancaster for decades and had actually been in discussions with the St. Mary’s High School Board of Trustees and Head of School, Kevin Kelleher over the past year to try and determine how to best help the school. The chance to help reverse the deficit caused by the Diocesan cuts provided a great opportunity for Mr. Salvatore to step in and immerse himself in St. Mary’s. Mr. Salvatore lives by the mantra his dad always expressed to him: “Give and you will receive.”
Salvatore has been impressed with the progress made at St. Mary’s and believes in the momentum the school has been able to garner. It is in large part because of Kelleher’s leadership and his administrative team that Salvatore felt confident in the school’s direction and in making his gift. Kelleher and Salvatore both share a passion for education and will work to ensure great schools, like St. Mary’s, are able to continue to offer a safe, innovative, faith-based environment for future generations of students. Salvatore knows the impact this type of donation can have on St. Mary’s High School, in an email he wrote: “Kevin, I am happy to be in a position to help the St. Mary’s students and their families. St. Mary’s is on such a great path and I see you, your leadership team and the Board working hard, you are making a difference and are doing outstanding things for the young people in our community, following a tradition I remember from when I moved out here 50 years ago. This should help keep the momentum going.”
St. Mary’s is primed to continue its 114-year tradition of educating the best young men and women in Western New York to become the leaders of tomorrow.
