"Hearts of the Community" Honors Compassion, Commitment and Contributions

Sacred Heart Academy will recognize and honor six individuals and one organization for their compassion, commitment to community and contributions to the academy at the Hearts of the Community Awards Dinner March 26.

"This year’s recipients have served the community and Sacred Heart Academy in countless ways while embodying the spirit of generosity and goodwill and we feel privileged to acknowledge them,” said SHA President Sr. Sheila O’Neill.

The 2011 Hearts of the Community Honorees are:

 The Knights of Columbus, a Catholic fraternal organization founded in 1882 at St. Mary’s Church in New Haven, has more than 1.8 million members in the Americas, Europe and Asia. For 128 years it has provided for the financial security of its members and their families.

Continuing to uphold its founding principle of charity, the Knights of Columbus donated more than $144 million and more than 68 million hours of service to charitable causes last year. Cumulative totals during the past decade total nearly $1.25 billion and 600 million hours to charity.

In addition to charity to causes and organizations throughout the world, the Knights support Catholic education with scholarships, loans and grants. For years, Sacred Heart Academy has been the beneficiary of their generosity and kindness.

It also operates a world class museum at One State Street in New Haven. 

Mary Jane R. Maturo has been office manager at Sacred Heart Academy of the past 13 years. An invaluable presence at the school, Mrs. Maturo is gracious and welcoming to all, especially applicants and families during the admissions process when first impressions truly count.

Over the years, she has been involved in a host of volunteer organizations – one of those moms that just couldn’t say no and at Sacred Heart has served on numerous committees including the Spring Fashion Show and the FantaSHA.

Residents of Hamden, Mrs. Maturo and her husband, Ed, have two daughters and four grandchildren, including one who will graduate from Sacred Heart this spring. 

Kerry A. Robinson is the executive director of the National Leadership Roundtable on Church Management, an organization dedicated to promoting excellence and best practices in the management, finances and human resource development of the Catholic Church in the United States, and exists to strengthen the temporal affairs of the Church.

Robinson is a member of the Raskob Foundation for Catholic Activities and a member of the Board of Directors of FADICA. She is the founding editor of The Catholic Funding Guide: A Directory of Resources for Catholic Activities first published by FADICA in 1998 and has been an advisor to grant-making foundations, charitable nonprofits and family philanthropies since 1990. 

She is a frequent writer and speaker on the subjects of philanthropy, development and the Catholic Church and was recently featured in a cover article in America Magazine. 

Roger J. & Linda D. Sciascia have served Sacred Heart since their daughter first entered the academy. Active members of the Mothers’ and Fathers’ Clubs, Mr. Sciascia was both president and treasurer and Mrs. Sciascia helped to initiate and subsequently chair the House Tour and the Spring Fashion Show.

Together they worked on sponsorship committees and co-chaired the Auction.Mr. Sciascia currently serves on the executive committee of the SHA Advisory Board and as chair of the finance committee. Residents of Wallingford, they are the parents of two children.

Reverend James A. Shanley of Guilford is currently pastor of Saint George Church, where he was assigned this past summer. Ordained a priest in 1980, Father served two terms at Our Lady of Pompeii in East Haven, where he developed the intergenerational faith-formation program. To honor this and his other work, the local Knights established the Father James Shanley Scholarship Fund.

A long-time and loyal friend of Sacred Heart Academy, Father currently serves as a member of the U.S. Province Advisory Board of the Apostles of the Sacred Heart, the Academy’s founding order. 

Sister Mary Anne Sharron, ASCJ, ’64, of Hamden, currently serves as the administrator and religious superior of Sacred Heart Manor, the retirement home for the Apostles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Upon her graduation from Sacred Heart Academy in 1964, Sr. Mary Anne entered the congregation of the Apostles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. She earned a A.A. degree from Mount Sacred Heart College in 1967 and B.A. in mathematics from St. Louis University in 1974. She completed a M.A.L.S. in mathematics from Wesleyan University in 1982 and holds teaching certifications in mathematics 7 – 12 in both Connecticut and Missouri and Connecticut certification in administration.

She is a graduate of the Catholic Biblical School and spent a sabbatical year in Rome, where she earned a diploma in spirituality from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas. Prior to administering at Sacred Heart Manor, all of Sr. Mary Anne’s ministries were in Catholic education, beginning at Our Lady of Good Counsel in St. Louis on the primary level and finally as beloved principal of St. Rita School in Hamden from 1994 to 2004.

She has served Sacred Heart Academy as a math and theology teacher, alumnae director and two terms as assistant principal.

Serving as this year’s Hearts of the Community chairs are current parents James and Michelle Bowman of Cheshire. The Hearts of the Community Awards Dinner will be held at the school, 265 Benham St., and begins with cocktails and hors d’oeuvres at 6 p.m. and is followed by dinner and the awards ceremony.

New this year will be the “Hands up for Heart” initiative; proceeds will be directed to the Tuition Assistance Program for students in need. For sponsorship or event information, contact Debbie Camner, Director of Advancement, 203-288-2309, x318 or dcamner@sacredhearthamden.org.