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OUR MISSION
Episcopal Community Services (ECS) is a social service agency of the Diocese of Louisiana that honors the legacy of Mrs. Frances Joseph Gaudet, a turn-of-the century educator and activist.
The agency's activities are coordinated by an ECS Board comprised of the Bishop and nine members elected across the diocese.
FRANCES JOSEPH GAUDET SCHOLARSHIPS
Episcopal Community Services awards scholarships for the purpose of advancing the education of African American students through need-based partial scholarships to attend primary and secondary schools that offer rigorous curricula in preparation for entry to and completion of college.
Gaudet Scholarship Guidelines
- The Frances Joseph Gaudet funds are to be used solely for the education of African Americans.
- Gaudet Scholarships will be awarded to provide need-based partial scholarships to African American students.
- Priority will be given to students living within the Diocese of Louisiana attending Episcopal Schools.
- The Report of Family Contribution (School Report) from School and Student Service for Financial Aid, and a contribution from the student's school are required for consideration of a Gaudet Scholarship award.
- Scholarships will be awarded to individual students. Funds will be disbursed to the school on behalf of the student.
- A student who is awarded a scholarship in a given year is eligible for awards in future years, provided that student fulfills the normal application guidelines each year.
Application Information
To apply for a Gaudet Scholarship, a student must already be accepted for admission to a school, and the student's parent(s) must have made a commitment for the child to attend that school.
The Scholarship Cover Pages explain the application process in detail. The Scholarship Application must be completed and submitted to the Diocese of Louisiana not later than March 31st 2008. By mid-June, ECS will mail notification to applicants of their scholarship decisions.
EPISCOPAL COMMUNITY SERVICES GRANTS
The Episcopal Community Services Board desires to fund not-for-profit agencies that create, manage, and expand educational opportunities for African American children within the Diocese of Louisiana. Not-for-profit organizations and agencies are eligible and encouraged to apply.
Grant applications are available after October 1 each year and carry the application deadline of November 1 of that same year. The period of funding is for one calendar year (January through December), and grants may be applied for annually. Programs that receive Episcopal Community Services funds may be required to submit an external program evaluation, quarterly financial statements, an end of year Income & Expense statement, and/or periodic progress reports.
Application Information
Applications for grant may be found at the following link:
Grant Application for 2009 funding
The following entities have been awarded grants thus far in 2008:
Christ Episcopal Enrichment Program, Covington
St. Michael’s Pre-School, Baton Rouge
STAIR, New Orleans
Julian Poydras Museum, New Roads
Young Leader’s Academy, Baton Rouge
Grace Children’s Center, New Orleans
Christ Church Cathedral, New Orleans
CARITAS, Abita Springs
Open World Family Services, Inc., New Orleans
Kids RETHINK New Orleans Schools
For further information about any Episcopal Community Services program, please contact Jennifer Hirstius at jhirstius@edola.org or 225-706-6634.
Mission:
The work of the ECS is a response to the Gospel message, an attempt to model Jesus' life in our own lives. Specifically, we are called to serve the poor, especially children and youth. We seek to bear witness to the goodness and grace of God through our presence and our actions:
Goals:
- To oversee the wise and proper use of the Gaudet Fund monies for the education of young black African American people, respecting both the intent and spirit of Mrs. Gaudet's gift and the legal restrictions placed upon the Fund by the conveyance deed;
- To develop other ECS monies which could be used for service programs with purposes that are not solely educational, and;
- To inspire others to ministry, especially among poor children and youth by:
- Educating the members of our diocese about the work of ECS and of similar ministries in the parishes of our diocese
- Providing information and contacts, or other similar assistance to parishes or groups within the diocese desiring to begin to expand ministries of this sort.
Canon 27
Section 1.
There shall be a Board of Directors of the Episcopal Community Services, which shall be composed of The Bishop and nine (9) additional members, of whom three (3) shall be of the Clergy and six (6) shall be confirmed Communicants in good standing in the Diocese. The Bishop shall be President of the Board, ex-officio, and the Board shall choose annually from its membership a Vice-President, a Secretary and a Treasurer.
Section 2.
At each meeting of The Convention, one (1) member of the Clergy and two (2) confirmed Communicants in good standing in the Diocese shall be elected to the Board at large by the Convention.
Section 3.
The position on the Board of any elected member who misses three (3) consecutive meetings shall ipso facto become vacant, and the President shall appoint a replacement for the remaining portion of that member's term from that member's order. In like manner, in the event of any other vacancy, the President shall appoint a replacement from the same order for the remaining portion of that member's term.
Section 4.
The Board of Directors shall be charged with the formulation and administration of programs of the Diocese related to services for children and families. The administration and custody of permanent funds committed to the management of the Board of Trustees shall not be affected.
Section 5.
The Board of Directors shall make an annual report to the Executive Board.
Section 6.
This Canon is not intended in any way to affect the corporate status, holdings or legal integrity of that Louisiana corporation formerly known as the "Children's Home of the Protestant Episcopal Church in Louisiana, and now named "The Episcopal Children's Agency."
THE GAUDET LEGACY
Frances Joseph Gaudet was born in a log cabin in Holmesville, Pike County, Mississippi, in 1861. Her father was a former slave. She was a seamstress by profession yet she became a major philanthropist in New Orleans at the turn of the century.
Mrs. Gaudet earned a national reputation as a prison reformer and missionary. She was a true leader who united forces from diverse segments of society to affect social change. This determined woman was not only a primary force in the establishment of better conditions for the city's indigent mentally ill, she was also a driving force behind the establishment of the first juvenile court in New Orleans.
She believed that the formation of a school was essential to fulfilling her mission to provide protection and education for the homeless children who were often incarcerated for vagrancy. Somehow against all odds she found the $5,000 necessary to purchase 105 acres of land on Old Gentilly Road. This inspired woman founded the Gaudet Normal and Industrial School of Black Youth in 1902. It was both an orphanage and a school known for its academic excellence.
Mrs. Gaudet had the wisdom to leave her trust to the Episcopal Church in such a way that her mission would continue to find new ways of expression in changing times.
Today, Mrs. Frances Joseph Gaudet's legacy lives on through that trust to the Episcopal Church. The Board of Directors of Episcopal Community Services, a ministry of the Church, administers funds for the Gaudet Scholarship Program as well as for other programs benefiting underserved children and families in the New Orleans and Baton Rouge areas.
Mrs. Gaudet dedicated her life to building alliances with people of every race and class. The Episcopal Community Services Board of Directors, as stewards of the Gaudet Fund, is committee to keeping her purpose alive.
The Rt. Rev. Charles E. Jenkins, III
President
2005-Convention, 2008
The Rev. Stephen F. Craft
Elizabeth Schafer
LaVondra Dobbs
2006-Convention, 2009
The Rev. A.J. Heine
Wanda Allphin
The Rev. Edward Robertson
Eleanor Shirley
Tanya Dillon
Carole Martinez
