Chicago, IL (May 7, 2018) – Today, the Archdiocese of Chicago released a video message featuring Cardinal Blase J. Cupich, Archbishop of Chicago, and Sr. Jean Dolores Schmidt speaking in support of tax credit scholarships. Cardinal Cupich and Sister Jean, as she is affectionately known on the campuses of Loyola University Chicago where she serves as chaplain of the men’s basketball team, have teamed up to encourage more donations to the tax credit scholarship program.

The Illinois “Invest in Kids” Act, signed into law last August, includes a provision for tax credit scholarships. Donors to the new program will receive a credit off their state of Illinois income taxes equal to 75 percent of their contribution. Their contribution will be used to support scholarships for students from low-income households to attend a non-public school of their choice.

The video message from Cardinal Cupich and Sr. Jean is available on archchicago.org and the Archdiocese’s YouTube channel. Cardinal Cupich and Sister Jean encourage more people to consider donating to a scholarship granting organization, which receives donations, processes scholarship applications and distributes scholarships to eligible students. To date, more than 44,000 Illinois students have applied for a tax credit scholarship. The demand for scholarships vastly outweighs the available funds. Four of five students who applied will not receive a scholarship, unless more individuals and corporations come forward to donate. There are more than $55 million in tax credits still available as part of this program.

To learn more about donating to a tax credit scholarship visit archchicago.org/tcs or call 312.534.2617.