BRIGHTON -- Alex Orrego felt his back up against the wall.

For years, Orrego had lived in Massachusetts while his daughter Tatiyana lived in Maine with her mother and stepfather. Both struggled with addiction. One day, Tatiyana's mother left home and never came back, leaving her alone to fend for herself. Tatiyana was responsible for buying groceries with her mother's food stamp card and getting herself to and from school. Orrego took his daughter to live with him, but he didn't know how he could provide her with a quality education. Then, he discovered St. Columbkille Partnership School in Brighton, and the Catholic Schools Foundation, which gave Tatiyana financial aid to attend school there.

"Together, they helped us save my daughter," Orrego said in his remarks at the Catholic Schools Foundation's annual bus tour, which took donors to St. Columbkille on Oct. 17. "It truly takes a village, and I am forever grateful for mine."

Every year, supporters of the Catholic Schools Foundation get to become students for a day, going to a Catholic school in the Archdiocese of Boston on a bus. They then go on a student-led tour of the school so they can see firsthand what their donations have accomplished. Catholic Schools Foundation Executive Director Mike Reardon chatted with students and gave high-fives.

"It's a privilege to be at the Catholic Schools Foundation," he said in his remarks, "because you as donors can trust your resources to us, and everyone on our team believes that the most important thing we can do is maximize those resources so more students can have access to an education like here at St. Columbkille's."

Therefore, the foundation tries to visit a school in person at least twice each semester.

"These aren't numbers," Reardon said. "These are kids. I want you to know that whatever you give, it makes a difference, and we're grateful to you."

Since 2015, the Catholic Schools Foundation has provided $2.8 million in financial support to students at St. Columbkille. Eighty-nine students received scholarships this fiscal year. Twenty-five percent of students at St. Columbkille receive financial aid from the Catholic Schools Foundation.

"As you're visiting classrooms today, you might see tables of four," Head of School Jen Kowieski told donors. "Just remember, one of those children is here in our school thanks to your generosity."

Before coming to Boston, Kowieski lived and worked in Chicago for 20 years. She worked at a wealthy and predominantly white Catholic school, where students were financially secure.

"And as I looked around and visited Catholic schools throughout the country," she said in her remarks, "I believed deeply that the mission of Catholic education was something more."

A friend told her about "this amazing school in Boston," and she went to visit it for herself.

"Our school's mission is that we are committed to educating students of all backgrounds, and so, our diversity is intentional," she said. "We have over 25 languages spoken in our families' homes."

That diversity is also geographic -- families travel up to an hour to take their children to St. Columbkille each morning, then travel for another hour to pick them up at the end of the day.

"I am proud to send my daughters to St. Columbkille Partnership School," Orrego said, adding: "I know that through Catholic education, they are finding their place in the world."

Tatiyana, who is currently a senior at Newton Country Day School, also spoke at the tour.

"The Catholic Schools Foundation means so much to me because it has given me opportunities I would never have otherwise," she said. "Without CSF, I probably wouldn't be so focused on school, or as successful and happy as I am today."

She said that St. Columbkille gave her the education and care that she had been missing. For the first time in her life, she was being taken care of, and she felt excited to go to school each day.

"St. Columbkille heard my story and welcomed me with open arms," she said. "I understood how hard my dad was working to make sure I had the best education, and they wanted the same. From the moment I walked through the doors, I felt like I was part of the family."

She wants to become a social worker so she can help children in the same situation she was once in.

"I want to give them the support and opportunities that CSF has given me," she told donors. "Thank you so much for being part of my story and making my dreams possible."

Tatiyana's younger sister, Jasmine, also spoke, needing a stool to reach the microphone. She enrolled in St. Columbkille as a first grader.

"I really love my school," she said. "The teachers are so kind that they always help us with what we need to learn."

She said she has a great day every day she comes to school, and wants to be a nurse or doctor when she grows up so she can help people.

"I used to go to a public school," she said, "but here we can do more tasks on computers to help us learn, and I've learned how to take ownership and have a good attitude and be respectful."

She has also learned how to be a good friend.

"I just want to say thank you to all the donors," she said. "Because of you, I get to be part of such a wonderful school, and I feel so lucky to have the opportunity."