NussbaumGREENSBORO — The charitable legacy of the late Vic Nussbaum Jr., former Greensboro mayor and long-time member of St. Pius X Parish, continues to impact students at two Greensboro Catholic schools.
Thanks to an endowment of $1.5 million for tuition assistance for St. Pius X and Our Lady of Grace schools, 60 students have been given the opportunity to receive a Catholic education for the 2024-2025 school year. Each school received $30,990, which they allocated as needed.
Antonette Barilla Aguilera, principal of St. Pius X School, said the grant provided tuition assistance for 25 students this academic year.
“This opportunity to assist students through the generosity of Mr. Nussbaum helps us by reducing financial barriers and creating opportunities for academic and spiritual growth,” Aguilera said. “At St. Pius X, as is the case with our other diocesan schools, teachers practice and teach students to love our faith, fostering spiritual growth alongside academic excellence.”
Thirty-five students at Our Lady of Grace School received assistance, according to Principal Catherine Rusch.
“At Our Lady of Grace, the gift of endowment funds for financial assistance means so much to our students and families,” Rusch said. “It allows us to welcome children into our community where they can grow as saints and scholars – regardless of financial circumstances.”
The late Nussbaum – a self-proclaimed “Catholic Yankee in Dixie” who became one of Greensboro’s biggest boosters and its mayor for three terms, from 1987 to 1993 – was focused on expanding libraries, providing low-income housing and improving the quality of public education.
He was a devout Catholic, attending Mass every day at 6 a.m., and was a friend to the downtrodden, said Jim Melvin, who was mayor when Nussbaum was first elected to the Greensboro City Council in 1973.
He attended Our Lady of Grace Church and sent his children to Our Lady of Grace School, and after a cross-town move later attended St. Pius X. He believed Catholic schools not only provide a great education but are crucial to carrying on the faith.
Donors like Nussbaum across the diocese have given one-time gifts of cash or stock, pledged to capital campaigns or projects, or left gifts in their estate plans. Such gifts have benefitted parishes, Catholic schools, the diocese, the diocese’s foundation and St. Joseph College Seminary.
“We receive gifts of every amount – and all of them make a difference,” said Jim Kelley, diocesan development director. “There have been some individuals with significant resources who have had so much confidence in the Church’s leadership and commitment to their faith that they have given a million dollars or more. I invite more people to be a part of our mission in this kind of significant way to help build up the Church across western North Carolina. Gifts given to establish endowments in particular help change people’s lives because they keep on growing and providing returns year after year.”
— Courtney McLoughlin
Fund an endowment
Interested in setting up – or adding to – an endowment to benefit your parish or Catholic school? You can establish an endowment in the Diocese of Charlotte Foundation by leaving a bequest in a will, a beneficiary designation from a retirement plan, a trust or annuity, or a gift of real estate, life insurance, cash or securities.
For details, contact Gina Rhodes at 704-370-3364 or gmrhodes@rcdoc.o