Years ago, at the age of 15, Scott Pawley was profiled in the Catholic Community Foundation’s 2020 Impact Report. Our story then told of how Scott saw a need and responded with a steadfast commitment to seeing that it was addressed. Through witnessing a cousin’s experience, Scott understood the financial burden placed on families of children with special needs and disabilities, especially when trying to provide them with an academically excellent Catholic school education. When he discovered that there wasn’t yet a way to assist these families financially, Scott acted.
To support these students and their families, Scott, a Knott Scholar both in elementary and high school, worked tirelessly to establish the Knott CARES (Catholic Academic Resource Enrichment Scholarship) Fund within the CCF, a fund that provides financial assistance to families to help cover the costs of special needs instruction at archdiocesan schools. Thanks to Scott’s efforts, Knott CARES is fully funded.
Mimie Helm, Director of Knott Scholarship Funds, said, “I thought it might take five years or so for this endowment to become fully funded. It’s remarkable how much Scott has accomplished in such a short amount of time. We support him wherever we can, but I would say that 95% of everything that has been achieved through Knott Cares stems from Scott.”
Scott, as you might guess, was pleased with this success. “I’m very excited,” he said. “My family and I spent a lot of time sending emails, speaking at parishes, and doing fundraisers. Consequently, in the 2023-24 school year, we’ll be able to start making distributions. The entire experience has made a really deep, personal impact. And, since the fund is needs-based, it will help those families who wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford Catholic school.”
Dr. Donna Hargens, Superintendent of Catholic Schools for the Archdiocese, grateful for students like Scott who are willing to pay their good fortune forward, said “Scott’s tenacious commitment to helping others is a testament to the transformational quality of a values-oriented, Catholic education. His compassion and thoughtfulness are an example to us all.”
Mimie Helm echoed that sentiment, “Part of Henry Knott’s vision for the Knott Scholars is that they become leaders in the Catholic community. Scott has done exactly that.”
