DRAPER — It takes more than an Irish brogue to endear a congregation, legions of volunteers, and donors of many religions to give their time and treasure to a mission, but Monsignor Terence Moore has done it innumerable times. As a priest for the Diocese of Salt Lake City, Msgr. Moore built (and paid off) two of the largest Catholic churches in Utah. While directing Catholic Community Services, he brought together individuals with diverse ideologies and faiths to bring about social change and aid to those devastated by war, illness and poverty. He has been a champion for Catholic education, and his ministry resonates with the 2,000 students at the Skaggs Catholic Center, where he currently serves as pastor. In honor of Msgr. Moore, Lindsay and Laura Atwood, Saint John the Baptist parishioners, challenged the community with a matching grant to build an endowment in Msgr. Moore’s name in 2008. This endowment has grown with gifts from hundreds of donors as diverse as those with whom Msgr. Moore has come into contact with over the years. The Rev. Msgr. Terence M. Moore Endowment, administered by the Catholic Foundation of Utah, originally was established to provide tuition assistance to students at Juan Diego Catholic High School. It has since expanded in scope, and its annual earnings now provide tuition aid to 26 families of K-12th graders enrolled at Skaggs Catholic Center schools who demonstrate financial need. Lindsay Atwood grew up in Kearns, and has been a successful entrepreneur. He and wife Laura, who grew up in Glendale, are acutely aware of the challenges minorities and low-income people face to get ahead, even when they work hard. Being parents of Catholic school students themselves, the Atwoods have seen first hand that affording minority and low-income children access to academic excellence, coupled with Christian values, results in successful, caring citizens. By matching donations large and small, the Atwoods have not only built the Msgr. Moore Endowment to its present $600,000, they have enlisted the support of more than 350 others: Catholic and non-Catholic, people of little and vast means, young and elderly, as well as their business partners. Juan Diego Principal Dr. Galey Colosimo says the Msgr. Moore Endowment, like the Catholic Church, was built by the community for the community. "We have received worn $1 bills from families who are barely getting by, and $10,000 and $100,000 gifts from retirees who are able to give back," he said. "Everything about the Msgr. Moore Endowment speaks to our commitment to the future. Catholic schools have long afforded students of varied socio-economic backgrounds a seat in the classroom, made possible by sponsors from all backgrounds." Colosimo announced that a recent contribution of property, valued at more than $300,000, was given to the schools with the understanding that the funds from its future sale would be added to the endowment. Meanwhile, a new challenge has been posed by the Atwoods to match up to $80,000 any new gifts to the Msgr. Moore Endowment received by the end of the school year. "That will bring the total assets to more than $1 million, and will double the number of students we can keep enrolled for decades to come," said Colosimo. He noted it is a fitting tribute from a vast number of people who admire Msgr. Moore’s lifelong work with and for the community. "As the pastor reminds us on Sunday: Jesus said ‘...the poor will be with us always,’ but they don’t have to remain that way." For more information about contributing to the Msgr. Moore Endowment, contact MollyDumas@jdchs.org, 801-984-7604.
Courtesy of Juan Diego Catholic High School
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