CANFIELD, Ohio – Fred Moran said he sees the $300,000 he donated to the Ursuline Sisters Mission on Tuesday as a way to give back for 12 years of education by nuns.
Joined by members of his family, Moran, co-owner of Window World, presented the check for the Ursuline Sisters’ Fullness of Life, Future of Hope campaign during a brief media event at the Ursuline Motherhouse.
In recognition of the gift, the lobby of the motherhouse will be named in memory of Moran’s wife, Lucy, who died in January 2024.
Moran, who founded Window World of Youngstown with his son, Pat, 23 years ago, said the donation was in appreciation for all nuns have done for him over the years, including eight years of Dominican nuns at St. Dominic School and four years of Ursuline nuns at Ursuline High School, both in Youngstown.
“I can afford to give back,” he said. “Maybe it’s money the government won’t take in taxes.”
The Morans today operate offices for North Carolina-based Window World in Pittsburgh, which opened within six months of the Youngstown operation, Cleveland, Akron, Steubenville, Toledo and Detroit.
The family’s support of the Ursuline Sisters over the years also includes an annual golf tournament that benefits the mission and Beatitude House, which assists homeless families and individuals with housing and vocational opportunities.
Projects being funded by the Future of Hope campaign include a more than $6 million renovation at the motherhouse that includes construction of 45 assisted living units, chapel, dining room and gathering room, said Sister Patricia McNicholas, donor relations director of Ursuline Sisters Mission. Of the planned assisted living units, 17 already are completed.
“This project was to preserve the motherhouse for the sisters. It’s also needed because the sisters are aging, so this project allows the sisters to continue to age together,” said Taylor Cene-Acharya, assisted living director at the motherhouse. “With us creating this in their own home, they can age in place and age with their sisters in community.”
The motherhouse has 26 residents, and the first floor of the east wing will be dedicated to those nuns, she said. The surplus rooms in the wing will be available to the general public. The renovation also includes an 11-unit, female-only memory care unit for individuals with cognitive issues.
Funds from the campaign also will support the various Ursuline Sisters’ ministries, McNicholas said. Those include a housing assistance program, HIV AIDS clinic that serves more than 500 patients, an education program to help low-income women trying to succeed in post-secondary education and tutoring programs.
“Especially in the current environment, they are going to need help,” she said.
Moran said McNicholas had offered the option for him to make the donation anonymously, but he opted to make it public to hopefully inspire others like him who are able to financially support such causes.
“I know a lot of people in my position,” he said. “It’s really been my pleasure, and I would hope others in the community would take the same [opportunity].”
Pictured at top: Sister Patricia McNicholas and Fred Moran.