A proposed multi-parochial preschool in East Los Angeles that will also offer parenting classes is the designated beneficiary of proceeds from the 2007 Cardinal's Awards Dinner, to be held Feb. 10, 2007.

The project will involve four neighboring parishes in the Boyle Heights area of Deanery 9 in the San Gabriel Region: San Antonio de Padua (the site for the preschool), Assumption, St. Mary and Our Lady of the Rosary of Talpa Churches.

"These are parishes where there is a significant need for a preschool, and each would love to have one, but the funds aren't available to begin one at each parish," said San Gabriel Region Bishop Gabino Zavala. "What makes this more attractive, too, is that this is a project which we can potentially have up and running within a year."

Since its inception in 1990, the Cardinal's Award Dinner has been a major fundraising vehicle for designated parishes, schools and outreach programs in the Los Angeles Archdiocese. More than $5.4 million has been raised from the 17 events, including $500,000 from the 2006 dinner.

In the San Gabriel Region, Bishop Zavala said the greatest need is for a preschool program to serve parishes with predominantly lower-income populations, where families have difficulty finding affordable preschools for their children, or parenting classes for themselves.

"There are very few preschools in the area," he explained. "There is also a trust factor involved; there are many recently-arrived immigrants in this community who are more likely to feel secure by having their children at a facility that the church is connected with."

Because existing facilities will be used, Bishop Zavala said the funds generated from the Cardinal's Award Dinner would establish an endowment for tuition assistance. A sliding scale based on income will most likely help determine the cost for people who utilize the facility, whether through the preschool or by attending parenting classes, he said.