Christmas For Others

About CFO

December is the most wonderful time of the year at Padua Franciscan High School. All month long, our students, faculty, staff and alumni participate in our Christmas For Others fundraiser. CFO is a program designed to make the holidays brighter for the less fortunate. It is the largest student-run fundraiser in Northeast Ohio.

For 54 years, the Padua community has come together in the Franciscan spirit of giving. Since its inception in 1971, CFO has raised nearly $1 million for charity. It is sponsored, organized and operated by the students, under the direction of Padua’s Key (Kiwanis) Club. 

CFO Events Calendar 2025
CFO Spaghetti Dinner 2025 (Click here for tickets.)
CFO Collection List 2025
CFO Charities 2025
CFO More Details 2025

CFO Sets New School Record in 2024

In just three weeks, Padua set a new school record, collecting $41,374 in cash, in addition to collecting thousands of donations (clothing, food, books and toys) for non-profits and families in need. We distributed the money and goods during our CFO Mass on Friday, December 20, 2024. Non-profits, inner-city schools, local food pantries, animal shelters and many others received these donations.

Our students raised funds in a number of ways. The most exciting was our Coin Wars competition. In 20 minutes, we collected $7,414 in cash for local charities and families in need. Students collected canned goods for local food pantries. Our Italian Club hosted a Spaghetti Dinner. Spanish Club sold nachos. Art Club sold handmade jewelry. We had a student vs. faculty volleyball game, where $1 admission went to this good cause. Also, we had a blood drive, where students’ donations helped save 81 lives. Our main lobby was full of large bins to collect: toys, books, coats, mittens, hats, scarves, socks, blankets and food.

CFO News Coverage

2025 NEWS STORY: Click here to watch WKYC's segment.
2023 NEWS STORY: Click here to read FOX 8’s story.
2022 NEWS STORY: Click here to read Cleveland.com’s article.
2022 NEWS STORY: Click here to see News 5’s story about Coin Wars 2022.
2022 NEWS STORY: Click here to watch FOX 8’s story about Coin Wars 2022.
2021 NEWS STORY: Click here to read the Cleveland.com article about Coin Wars 2021.
2021 NEWS STORY: Click here to watch FOX 8’s story about Coin Wars 2021.
2020 NEWS STORY: Click here to read cleveland.com’s article about Christmas For Others 2020.
2020 NEWS STORY: Click here to see WVIZ Ideastream’s story.
2019 NEWS STORY: Click here to read Cleveland.com’s article on Coin Wars.
2019 NEWS STORY: Click here to watch News 5’s story on Coin Wars.
2018 NEWS STORY: Click here to watch the Channel 19 story on Coin Wars.
2018 NEWS STORY: Click here to watch the Fox 8 News story on Coin Wars.
2018 NEWS STORY: Click here to read the cleveland.com article.
2017 NEWS STORY: WTAM 1100 Featured Coin Wars 2017
2016 NEWS STORY: Padua’s Coin Wars Competition Featured on Channel 19 News.
2016 NEWS STORY: Padua Coin Wars Featured on cleveland.com.
2015 NEWS STORY: Padua CFO Featured on cleveland.com.

VIDEOS

Padua Coin Wars Competition 2025
Padua Coin Wars Competition 2024
Padua Coin Wars Competition 2023
Padua Coin Wars Competition 2022
Padua Coin Wars Competition 2021