The Catholic Education Foundation --- which this school year is providing tuition awards valued at $6.3 million to some 6,800 children --- kicked off its 20th anniversary year Nov. 2 with an appreciation dinner honoring the philanthropic organization's original trustees and donors.

About 150 guests attended the early evening event at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels' Conference Center, which paid special tribute to Susana Lacayo, whose estate left CEF $15.3 million in land stock that today is worth $60 million and has earned more than $20 million in dividends funding scholarships.

"This particular gift, as you can well imagine, has propelled us forward in incredible ways," Cardinal Roger Mahony told the guests.

Shortly after being named archbishop of the Los Angeles Archdiocese in 1985, the cardinal said he realized what a "great treasure" local Catholic schools were, especially those serving inner-city neighborhoods. With the drastic drop in sisters, brothers and priests staffing these schools, however, he also saw that the cost of hiring lay teachers would raise tuitions to the point where many low-income families wouldn't be able to afford to send their kids to local Catholic schools.

Brainstorming sessions with businessmen Richard Riordan, Richard Ferry and Peter Mullin produced a solution: an education foundation that would raise a $100 million endowment to provide yearly tuition aid to disadvantaged families.

"So many of you stepped forward and understood the need and understood the mission and the vision, and that we could not allow those schools to go under," Cardinal Mahony recalled. "Because of all the apostolates and programs we were offering in the archdiocese, none was as important as that of education.

"And especially in these poor areas, good education was the way forward, not only for those children and their families, but that they would return and become contributors and leaders in the very community from which they came. So that is how the Education Foundation began."

Earlier that evening, a number of the pioneer trustees and contributors to what would become known as the Catholic Education Foundation were interviewed for a video documentary by Daniel Murphy High School students, which will be shown June 6, 2007, at CEF's 20th anniversary dinner.

"I think the last 20 years have been very successful and, hopefully, will be a continued success for the next 20, if not more," said Kathleen McCarthy, a member of the founding board of trustees. "I think the main concern is numbers of students. Because we don't want the student population to get too low to force the closing of some of the elementary schools in the archdiocese. So I think it's really important that we keep those seats filled."

Peter Mullin, another original trustee, said his $1 million pledge was the largest amount he'd ever given to any cause. "So what I was thinking was big dreams; what I was feeling was poor," he quipped.

"But I figured if one of my jobs was to raise money and show leadership, then I'd better step up to the plate myself and make a significant gift that stretched me, so that I could be credible when I asked others to stretch."

Rob Smith, CEF president, announced that next year more than $7 million will be awarded in tuition scholarships, a new record amount.

"I don't think anything makes a bigger difference in young people's lives than their faith and education," the son of legendary car dealer Bob Smith said. "I really want to thank everybody here, because this group more than anybody made the foundation's 20 years of growth happen."