By JULIANN DosSANTOS

Supporters of the Inner—City Scholarship Fund saw firsthand how their donations are helping to enrich the lives of students. At the 32nd annual Friends of Inner—City Scholarship Fund dinner dance, guests listened to jazz music from a band of Bronx high school students and watched ballroom dancers from an elementary school in East Harlem.

The dancers were from Mount Carmel—Holy Rosary School in Manhattan, and the jazz band was from Cardinal Hayes High School in the Bronx. Both schools benefit from the Inner—City Scholarship Fund (ICSF).

Some 425 guests attended the dinner dance, which raised $1.2 million. It was held at Cipriani in Manhattan on May 6.

Cardinal Egan, addressing the guests, said that his own experiences visiting inner—city Catholic schools have shown him how important education in the arts is, and how it "gives these youngsters an opportunity to come alive to what is beautiful and creative."

"Thank you for helping these youngsters to better understand and appreciate the beauty of creation and the Creator," he said.

The cardinal said that the dancers—who performed five different dance types, including swing, in a performance that received a standing ovation—attend a school of 260 students, of which 98 percent are members of minority groups and 86 percent live at or below the poverty line. What they showed in their performance, however, was joy, strength and energy, he said.

The cardinal also commended the students from Cardinal Hayes as "truly outstanding young artists."

Catholic schools, Cardinal Egan noted, teach children the important lessons of trust, gratitude and faith. "I know no charity more worthy of our support," he said.

The ICSF was founded in 1971 by Cardinal Terence Cooke and a group of business executives. It assists some 42,000 students in 107 inner—city schools. Ninety—eight percent of seniors in ICSF high schools graduate and 97 percent of the graduates go on to college.

Comedian Mo Rocca was master of ceremonies at the event. Thomas S. Murphy Jr., a co—founder of Crestview Partners, a private equity firm, and his wife, Karen Murphy, chaired the dinner.

Principal Suzanne Kasynski of Mount Carmel—Holy Rosary told CNY, "The Inner—City Scholarship Fund makes it possible for children whose families do not have the means to have opportunities which really transform their lives.

"Without these scholarships, many children from poor neighborhoods are destined to lives which are to a great extent hopeless and helpless," she said. "Those of us in Catholic education are very grateful to the generous ICSF donors."

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