By CatholicPhilly Staff • Posted August 12, 2024

Archbishop John Carroll High School in Radnor this month announced the award of a $350,000 grant from the Connelly Foundation toward the establishment of a school-based wellness center.

The Connelly Wellness Center will provide support and resources to students and school families. Its goal is to improve services and assistance to members of the school community with mild learning differences, academic disparities, mental health concerns, and spiritual needs utilizing a wrap-around, team-based approach.

Tom Riley, President of the Connelly Foundation, said “The Connelly Foundation is pleased to support the Archbishop Carroll High School community’s focus on addressing the holistic needs of students. In our current context, a focus on wellness is more pressing than ever, and to be a Catholic school of today requires compassion for the range of needs experienced by students.”

Patricia Scott, President of Archbishop Carroll, said the school is grateful to the foundation “for their generosity and commitment to student and family wellness.”

She added, “Experience has shown that students and families are struggling with mental health, academic disparities, and wellness. Our goal is to create a physical space in the center of the school, the Connelly Wellness Center, that provides interventions and support services in a designated area where teachers, counselors, students, families, and professionals will collaborate and provide a cohesive plan for individuals that targets the whole child and all his/her needs. This center is about creating a culture of wellness.”

The Connelly Foundation has also pledged an additional $100,000 to support this initiative with a matching gift from the school. This grant matches the largest single gift in the school’s history.

The Connelly Wellness Center is projected to open in the summer of 2025 and will be located on the main floor of the school.