The Conway Education Center will be home to a school for young people with developmental differences and a child development center
WASHINGTON, Oct. 3, 2024 –- Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington is pleased to announce a generous gift of $5 million from the Bedford Falls Foundation-DAF, a donor-advised fund established by Bill Conway, which makes possible the construction of a state-of-the-art education center.
The gift allows Catholic Charities to better serve children, particularly those with developmental differences, as it answers the needs of those most vulnerable in D.C. and Maryland.
The gift funds a portion of the cost of the $24.1 million education center, which will replace a 1950s-era school in northeast D.C. that no longer meets the needs of children and families.
“We are deeply grateful to Bill Conway for his transformational gift to Catholic Charities,” said Jim Malloy, president and CEO of Catholic Charities. “The new education center is a physical demonstration of his unwavering commitment to serving the needs of those who are often overlooked and treating them with the dignity they deserve. His gift is inspiring.”
Established by Conway and his late wife, Joanne, the Bedford Falls Foundation-DAF focuses its philanthropy on improving the lives of children and families in the Washington metro area, among other interests.
“We invest in organizations like Catholic Charities that provide opportunities to thrive, and are proud to be supporting Catholic Charities in creating more opportunities for children with developmental differences,” Conway said.
Scheduled to open in late fall of 2025, the Conway Education Center will house the Lt. Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Institute, known as the Kennedy School, and Child Development Center. The two-story, 36,300-square-foot center is being built adjacent to the current Kennedy School on Buchanan Street in northeast D.C.
The school serves students, ages 6 to 22, with autism, intellectual differences, emotional differences, learning differences and traumatic brain injuries. The Child Development Center provides affordable care for children of all abilities ages 6 weeks to 3 years.
A groundbreaking ceremony featuring Conway, Malloy, Cardinal Wilton D. Gregory, D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb and the students of Kennedy School was held on Oct. 2 on the Buchanan Street property.
Learn more by visiting the Conway Education Center web page.
Media: For more information or to schedule an interview, contact Catholic Charities DC’s communications department: Alexandra Porben at Alexandra.Porben@cc-dc.org and 202-772-4379, or Kate Kennedy at Kate.Kennedy@cc-dc.org an 202-772-4312.
About Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington
Catholic Charities DC is the largest independent social services agency in the Metropolitan D.C. area. As the charitable arm of the Archdiocese of Washington, Catholic Charities DC invests in communities by providing critical services to hundreds of thousands of people in need throughout the District of Columbia and Montgomery, Prince George’s, Charles, Calvert and St. Mary’s counties in Maryland. The organization works tirelessly to give help that empowers and hope that lasts to those it serves regardless of background, belief or circumstance. For more information, visit www.catholiccharitiesdc.org and follow us on social media @CCADW.