St. Joseph Class of 1969 raises $125,000 at 50th reunion

The St. Joseph Class of 1969 celebrated its 50th reunion on Oct. 5, 2019. In honor of its milestone year, the Class with Heart decided to welcome gifts in support of scholarships at Villa Angela-St. Joseph High School. A total of $125,000 was raised in donations and pledges, the biggest reunion gift in the school’s history.

Vince White-Petteruti ’69 played a big role in the planning of the 50th reunion. He said he became reengaged with the school about two years ago.

“It was a combination of the Marianist ideals and the support that I received in the school that drove me back to get reacquainted and reinvolved,” he said.

White-Petteruti worked closely with a team of Richard Osborne ’69, Michael Quinn ’69 and Chris McGrath ’69, along with Cheryl Stashinko ’03, associate director of alumni relations at VASJ, to plan the reunion and incorporate a fundraising aspect into the event.

“We tried to reach out to every single alum,” White-Petteruti said. “The ones who came and supported us, no matter what level of support they gave, all commented that they look back on their life and realize their time at St. Joseph was a critical point.

“I firmly believe that high school is really the leverage point for folks,” he added. “If you can do well and have a strong base during your high school years at a great school like VASJ, then you’ll be extremely successful no matter what you want to do.”

White-Petteruti said he hopes other classes will also be inspired to raise money in support of scholarships as part of their reunions.

“We’d love if future alumni reunions continue this tradition of providing the school with a gift focused on scholarships to help the students who are there,” he said. “If alums can help our students and their parents and families, I think that’s a great way of giving back and paying it forward.”