29-Sep-09. New foundation to assist fundraising. Calgary Herald, A1.

School district officials say the Catholic Education Foundation of Calgary, expected to begin in December, won’t be a replacement for the $2-million raised annually for schools through casinos and bingo events. The district two years ago announced a ban on all casino and bingo fundraisers, effective March 2010, following a public feud between Bishop Fred Henry and Catholic school board trustees. Other Catholic school boards in the province are also struggling with the issue of gambling fundraisers and how to move away from them according to Ted Paszek, president of the Alberta Catholic School Trustees Association.

2-Sep-08. Catholic schools easing away from casino funds. Calgary Herald, B2.

The Calgary Catholic School District has set up a 16-member foundation board including parents, business officials and two school board representatives. The foundation was created after a clash between Bishop Fred Henry and trustees over the ethics of raising money for schools through gambling. It is expected to be launched this spring, one year before a ban on gambling fundraisers takes effect.

25-Sep-07. Gambling ban dogs trustees. Calgary Herald, B4.

Calgary Catholic schools will be banning casino and bingo fundraisers 30 months from now and school trustee candidates are worried that parents will be asked to pick up the difference.  The fundraising controversy began more than a year ago, when Bishop Fred Henry threatened to blacklist schools defied his request to withdraw from gambling-based school fundraisers.

20-Sep-07. Fundraising essential to schools. Calgary Herald, NA11.

The rules around fundraising at Calgary’s Roman Catholic separate schools will change when the school board introduces a new foundation this month. It is designed to raise money for distribution among district schools. Over the next four years, the foudation hopes to raise $4-million to replace the revenue schools can expect to lose when they stop hosting casinos is March 2010.

28-Jun-07. Catholic trustees OK fundraising foundation. Calgary Herald, B7.

Trustees at Calgary’s Catholic school board have established a volunteer foundation to manage the district’s fundraising.  This new foundation will replace older fundraising methods that included charitable casinos and bingos.  Calgary Bishop Fred Henry has ordered the city’s Catholic schools to stop using gambling as a method of fundraising.

31-Mar-07. Bishop applauds casino fund ban. Calgary Herald, B2.

Bishop Fred Henry, the head of Calgary’s Catholic community, is relieved that the Calgary Catholic School District has banned all gambling-related fundraisers by March 1, 2010. Henry acknowledged it will be difficult for some schools to wean themselves off of the $2-million generated annually by casino and bingos which is why he supported the three-year grace period.

30-Mar-07. Parents can live with school casino ban. Calgary Herald, B2.

Catholic parents on both sides of the gambling controversy are relived the Catholic School District has decide to ban schools from profiting from casino and bingo fundraisers.

29-Mar-07. Catholic board sets deadline to stop gaming. Calgary Herald, B6.

Calgary Catholic school board trustees voted almost unanimously to establish a drop-dead date of March 1, 2010 to prohibit schools raising money through casinos and bingos.

3-Mar-07. Rick Bell PageFive. Calgary Sun, 5.

This article notes that the Calgary Catholic schools are still raising funds from charitable gambling events despite being the subject of a school board task force. A deal last September between Calgary Bishop Fred Henry and the school board agreed that a Get Out of Gambling date would be set in early 2007.

3-Mar-07. Gambling debate in limbo. Edmonton Sun, 19.

A decision on whether Catholic schools in Edmonton should get funding from the proceeds of gambling has been in limbo since Edmonton Archbishop Tom Collins was reassigned to another diocese. In the meantime, the school board is continuing its fundraising business as usual. St. Paul Bishop Luc Bouchard is giving Catholic organizations in his diocese up to three years to stop going after gambling revenues.