Power Survey’s donation to St. Anthony shows how business can have huge impact at local level

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Many people in the state know all about the stunning success of the boys basketball team at Saint Anthony High School in Jersey City. Not as many realize this: While the on-court achievements of the team are widely celebrated, the biggest success story is the work the dedicated staff at the always financially strapped school.What does this have to do with business in New Jersey?

Saint Anthony serves as an example of how and where a local company or entrepreneur can step up and make a difference. In this case, helping to keep the school open.

Tom Catanese, CEO and president of Kearny-based Power Survey Co., did just that, donating $150,000 to the school. With the gift, Saint Anthony has now exceeded its fundraising projections for 2016. It is one of the three largest gifts ever received by the school.

Saint Anthony President Bob Hurley said Power Survey’s contribution puts the school far ahead of its 2016 projections, and gives the school additional time to continue adding to and exceeding the short-term immediate goal while also focusing on the long-term goal of an endowment for the future.

“This contribution shows great confidence in Saint Anthony and what we strive to accomplish,” Hurley said. “Power Survey Company’s generosity is greatly appreciated and shows how the company’s executives value a quality inner-city Catholic education. We are thrilled to be able to continue the work that the staff and faculty do every day to improve the future of young people in urban areas.”

Saint Anthony has a student enrollment of 200 and enjoys a national reputation of excellence for both its academic and athletic programs. For 21 years, every member of the graduating class has been accepted to college. Last year, the school’s 42 graduates earned $6.5 million in academic and athletic scholarships.

Last fall, the school announced it faced a significant financial shortfall and warned it may have to close at the end of this academic year unless it raised between $10 million and $20 million to establish an endowment for the long-term sustainability of the school.

Catanese has helped the school previously. As a member of Cento Amici, he is a part of the organization’s annual scholarship drive, which helps a number of schools in the state, including Saint Anthony.

Catenese said he is thrilled to be able to do even more with Saint Anthony.

“We have seen first-hand the work Bob Hurley and his team at Saint Anthony do with these amazing young students and wanted to help Bob and the school continue making a difference in their students’ lives,” he said. “Having met many of the Saint Anthony students over the years, I know the impact the school has had on their lives.  Power Survey is proud to support the school and its work.”

Saint Anthony is continuing to fundraise in an effort to increase its endowment. Got to www.stanthonyhighschool.org and click on the “donate now” button to learn more.

To learn more about Cento Amici’s scholarship program, click here.

To learn more about Power Survey, click here for an NJBIZ profile on the company.

And in case you don’t know the full details, the success Hurley has had is second to none.

The program has won 28 State Championships and four National Championships, with eight undefeated seasons. In 2010, Coach Hurley became just the second high school coach in history to be inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.