The North American Catholic Educational Programming Foundation (NACEPF), a nonprofit focused on supporting education and lifelong learning, and buildOn, a nonprofit focused on breaking the cycle of poverty, illiteracy and low expectations through service and education, broke ground on the first of 10 new schools in developing countries in the Caribbean, Central America, Africa, and Asia. After successfully building 10 schools over the last year, NACEPF and buildOn have pledged to build 10 more together over the next year.
 
Katherine Messier, Director of Development for NACEPF, said, “We believe that education is a basic human right. Over the past 29 years, NACEPF has focused on meeting the technology needs of schools both in and out of the classroom across the United States. We also have a long history of supporting charitable programs all over the world. This has made us keenly aware that in many parts of the world, children have no access to formal education at all or have to overcome extreme obstacles just to attend class. 
After an introduction to buildOn from a family member who went on Trek to build a school in Nicaragua, we discovered buildOn’s mission and ethos perfectly aligns with NACEPF’s commitment to changing our world through education and service. We are honored to continue this strong partnership to make a long-lasting impact."

The new schools will enhance educational conditions for students in areas facing obstacles such as illiteracy, poverty, insufficient school structures, and dangerous environmental conditions making it difficult to travel to school. These 10 new schools will be completed by the Summer of 2019, providing access to educational resources and improving the lives of more than 1,300 students. The partnership between NACEPF and buildOn will make educational opportunities available to thousands of children and adults worldwide.
 
"Through our continued partnership with NACEPF and their dedication to buildOn's mission, together we have worked with rural community members across three different continents to build schools,” Jim Ziolkowski Founder, President and CEO of buildOn said. “By building 10 schools across Nicaragua, Burkina Faso, Haiti, Mali, Nepal, and Senegal in 2017/18 we have brought the power of education to 1,326 primary school students -- 713 of those students being girls. With education, comes equality. We could not be more thrilled that NACEPF has decided to continue to partner with buildOn by again committing to build another 10 schools in 2018/19. NACEPF’s impact is tremendous. We are honored to call NACEPF not only a partner, but part of the buildOn family."
 
Last year, NACEPF funded the building of 10 schools throughout Nicaragua, Burkina Faso, Senegal, Haiti, Mali, and Nepal, which helped improve the lives of 1,326 students and will continue to do so for many years. These new schools give students the ability to learn in a secure and safe environment. Since its existence, buildOn and other partners have built more than 1,334 schools around the world.
 
If you wish to learn more about NACEPF or buildOn, please visit their websites, http://www.nacepf.net/ and https://www.buildon.org/.
 
###
About NACEPF: North American Catholic Educational Programming Foundation, Inc. (NACEPF) is a Rhode Island-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and the second largest Educational Broadband Service (EBS) licensee in the United States. NACEPF’s broadband service, religious and educational programming, and advocacy efforts support education at every level. NACEPF’s worldwide philanthropic efforts focus on providing access to the resources essential to human development and well-being. This includes access to healthy food, clean water, safe housing, education, healthcare, and faith-based services. NACEPF’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Mobile Beacon, broadband service to educational, nonprofit, and community anchor institutions throughout the United States. To learn more, visit www.nacepf.net.
 
 
About buildOn: At home or abroad, buildOn's goal is to break the cycle of poverty, illiteracy and low expectations through service and education. Across the U.S., buildOn empowers urban youth to transform their neighborhoods through intensive community service -- working with senior citizens, the homeless, and younger children. These same students help build schools in some of the economically poorest countries in the world. Our students have contributed more than 2.2 million hours of service in the U.S., and have helped build over 1,351 schools in Burkina Faso, Haiti, Nicaragua, Nepal, Senegal, Malawi, and Mali. For more information, visit www.buildon.org. buildOn has a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator.

Katherine Messier, NACEPF’s ​Director of Development, co-authored an Op-Ed in the Philanthropy Journal News:
"All too often, institutions that anchor their communities, like nonprofits, libraries and schools, cannot afford the internet access they so desperately need to serve their communities. While there is no single provider or source that can satisfy all of today’s broadband needs, there is one powerful resource that is working to close this digital divide: Educational Broadband Service (EBS)."

READ THE FULL ARTICLE

NACEPF Inc.'s ​sponsored a service trip for eight students and two faculty members at St. Patrick Academy to assist with relief efforts from the destruction left in the wake of Hurricane Harvey. The students spent two days in the towns assisting with cleanup and another day repacking donations at a warehouse in Corpus Christi. 

READ THE FULL ARTICLE

In a special presentation at McVinney Auditorium on Tuesday, Oct. 10 at 7 p.m., sponsored by St. Patrick’s Academy, Immaculée Ilibagiza will reflect on growing up in a country she loved, surrounded by her family she cherished, until her world was ripped apart as Rwanda descended into a genocide. But, hers is a triumphant story of a remarkable journey to forgiveness. Today, Ilibagiza is regarded as one of world’s leading speakers on faith, hope and forgiveness. Her visit to Rhode Island was made possible through  a special endowment fund that supports initiatives of peace with help from NACEPF Inc.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE

Leadership, benefactors and supporters of Rhode Island Right to Life gathered at Cathedral Square on Wednesday, May 31, to unveil the Ancora Women’s Mobile Care Center, a mobile ultrasound clinic that will provide free pregnancy tests and ultrasounds to women in crisis pregnancies throughout the state. the Mobile Ultrasound Clinic was funded in part by a matching $100,000 grant from NACEPF Inc. in memory of Archbishop George Pearce​.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE

On Thursday, Nov. 19, five individuals were honored by Rhode Island Right to Life (RIRTL) at the Proudly Pro-Life Awards Banquet for their passionate pro-life leadership and defense of the unborn, the disabled and the elderly. John and Barbara Primeau, who have been active in the pro-life movement for decades as individuals and through the North American Catholic Educational Programming Foundation (NACEPF), a lay entity, were also recipients of a Proudly Pro-Life Award.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE

Philanthropist, NACEPF Inc. President, John Primeau's efforts have made  — and continue to make — a positive impact on people across the globe, including Rhode Islanders.  Not only have Primeau’s funds recently been used to establish a farm in North Scituate that feeds the needy via various food ministries, his donations are helping to finance the Holy Family Home for Women and Children, a homeless shelter that will soon open in Providence.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE