JOHN AND DONNA KURTZ

2005 INDIVIDUAL AWARD RECIPIENT

John and Donna Kurtz met at Catholic University in 1981, and quickly discovered they were soul mates. Donna earned degrees in religious studies and elementary education, while John graduated with a degree in religious studies from LaSalle University, in Philadelphia.

They were married in 1984 and after finding they were infertile, adopted their first child in 1987. After adopting two more children in 1989 and 1991, the Lord was able to break into their hearts and lead them to consider the plight of older and harder to place children in foster care and in orphanages. Over the following years they continued to adopt, many children having special needs including speaking no English, recovering from surgery, learning disabilities, drug-addicted parents, and many other abusive backgrounds. They became dedicated to creating an environment where the children could be loved and learn to love again, and have since become the parents of 18 adopted children. The couple was featured in “Good Housekeeping” magazine in November 2001 as “The Rescuers”:

“Their [18] children came from orphanages, prisons, and foster homes. What many of them were escaping was emotional damage. What all of them found was unconditional love.”

They have had to take numerous leaps of faith to support their calling. In 1999, John terminated his general contracting business. With strength and support from God, they formed St. Joseph’s House, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation with a mission to enflesh Pope John Paul’s encyclical, The Gospel of Life. The first year they were incorporated, they received $82,000 in unsolicited donations! They have received support in every form, from financial gifts, to food and children’s supplies, to the use of a convent as a home. God is providing.

Presently St. Joseph’s House operates a “House of Refuge” for families in crisis, regularly supplies food and clothing to dozens of people each week, offers counsel and respite care to families involved in crisis adoptions and family situations, and oversees the work of St. Philomena Academy in East Fallowfield, PA. St. Philomena Academy is an all-volunteer, full-curriculum school with 70 students, which utilizes a classical curriculum in consultation with Laura Berquist, the director of Our Mother of Divine Grace School in Ojai, California.

The Catholic Education Foundation proudly welcomes John and Donna Kurtz as recipients to this year’s Individual of the Year Award, and supports their future endeavors with their children.