Give a student athlete an invaluable opportunity!

Hello friends, family and other supporters! My name is Kathleen Raftery, and I coach girls’ basketball in Bridgeport, Connecticut. I am raising money for my former center/forward, Laprazia, to attend Kolbe Cathedral High School this school year since the tuition currently exceeds her family’s capabilities.

Kolbe Cathedral is a private high school that will provide Laprazia with smaller class sizes and athletic opportunities that I know she will thrive in. Any amount you can contribute will help this incredible student achieve her academic and athletic dreams!

As her middle school basketball coach last winter, I was able to mentor Laprazia and immediately noticed her incredible potential on and off the court. She became a natural leader on the team and often volunteered to bring the basketballs upstairs after morning practice, came to my classroom to finish school work in a quiet space or stayed after school to bond with her teammates. I witnessed her hard work at practice to improve her skills on the court, and she was always the first one done with sprints, often running into the wall because of her tenacity. Any feedback I gave her was immediately turned into something to practice; she never took it to heart because she only wanted to improve. Laprazia always led by example.

Kolbe Cathedral's significantly smaller class sizes will provide Laprazia with the academic support she needs, while the girls' basketball team will give her a sense of community and purpose. I have spoken about Laprazia's amazing potential with the girls' basketball coach at Kolbe, and she is excited for her future at their school. The ability to attend this private high school will provide her with opportunities she would not otherwise get at her urban public high school.

Here is a snippet from Laprazia about why this opportunity is so important to her:

"I feel like it's important for me to be at Kolbe because I know it will give me invaluable learning experiences. The smaller classes will keep me focused, and they have great mentors who will help me figure out my future after high school. Kolbe will also give me a chance to get somewhere with basketball. I would like to play for a college basketball team someday, and I know Kolbe can help me get there."