BOSTON -- For the second year, the Archdiocese of Boston, the Lynch Foundation, the Catholic Schools Foundation, and five local colleges have collaborated on a comprehensive marketing campaign to raise awareness about elementary and secondary level Catholic education throughout the archdiocese.

The cornerstone of this year’s campaign is a series of television ads featuring Patriots’ all-time reception leader Troy Brown, which highlight the value and accessibility of Catholic education in Boston. The ads, which began running in conjunction with Catholic Schools Week, Jan. 28-Feb. 3, will run for five weeks.

The colleges involved in the campaign are Boston College, Emmanuel College, Merrimack College, Regis College and Stonehill College.

Last year, this unique alliance developed the marketing campaign, “Catholic Schools: Your Hope. Our Passion. Their Future,” to promote not only the value of Catholic education, but the availability of tuition assistance and financial aid in the archdiocese. Poster campaigns, radio and print advertisements, and MBTA advertisements, which all continue this year, yielded measurable results in terms of Catholic school enrollment. This year, Wall USA, Inc., which specializes in street furniture, donated spots throughout the city for campaign posters.

The value of Catholic education, as well as the availability of financial aid, is impressive: Catholic school students score above the national average in standardized testing in reading, math, science, social studies, language and writing. Nationally, 99.2 percent of Catholic school children graduate from high school and 97 percent of Catholic high school students attend college. More than $7.3 million was given out in financial aid last year in Boston, and more than 6,000 students received financial aid.

“The colleges have provided invaluable support as we have worked toward communicating the educational opportunities provided by Catholic schools in Boston, as well as the financial assistance available to families for whom a strong, values-based education is important,” said Carolyn Lynch, president of the Lynch Foundation, which funds innovative programs in the areas of education, health care, religion, and arts and sciences.

“We are also grateful for the continued support of Cardinal Seán Patrick O’Malley, the help of Father Bob Kickham and the commitment of the Catholic Schools Office to this initiative. And, we thank Troy Brown for lending a voice to this important message,” she added.

Brown, a staunch supporter of providing access to education in urban settings during his long career with the Patriots, is a board member of the Catholic Schools Foundation and a generous contributor to the Inner City Scholarship Fund.

The advertisements featuring Brown, which were taped at our Lady of the Perpetual Help Mission Grammar School in Roxbury, can be viewed at http://www.catholicschoolsboston.org.

Molly Honan is Director of Publications and Communications at Emmanuel College.