Cristo Rey High School, Mercy Foundation and community leaders April 6 announced the public launch of the "Securing the Dream" philanthropic campaign for Cristo Rey High School in Sacramento. With local support, the campaign has secured nearly $7 million in contributions from more than 70 generous donors to reach 87 percent of the $8 million goal to assure the school continues to offer a college preparatory education for students from families with limited financial resources.
Mercy Foundation and Cristo Rey High School are inviting the community to help reach the campaign goal of $8 million.
Attendees also celebrated the success of this year's graduating seniors who have received acceptances from top colleges including Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, UC Davis, UC Berkeley, Santa Clara University, Vanderbilt University, and many more. In 2021, 99 percent of Cristo Rey's graduating seniors were accepted to college, many on full scholarships.
Cristo Rey High School opened in 2006 and to date has graduated 12 classes totaling more than 780 students. Ninety-six percent of its graduates have been accepted to colleges and universities.
Speaking at the event were Kevin Duggan, president and CEO of Mercy Foundation; David Perry, president of Cristo Rey High School; Sister of Mercy Eileen Enright, campaign co-chair; Paul Esch, campaign co-chair and work study sponsor; and Lilianna Morales, student ambassador, class of 2022. Others in attendance included members of the Cristo Rey board and campaign committee, staff, students, faculty and Mercy Foundation leaders.
Cristo Rey High School, located at 8475 Jackson Road, transforms lives by providing a Catholic, college preparatory education and professional work experience to high school students with limited financial resources. The "Securing the Dream" campaign was launched to provide resources to fully own the school facility, attract and retain outstanding teachers, increase opportunities in the work study program, and build an educational endowment. The success of the campaign will insure Cristo Rey remains a beacon of hope for local underserved students for generations to come.
"There are Catholic high schools in the region that are phenomenal; they serve students whose parents can afford to pay a significant amount of tuition and so we're filling a different gap," said Perry.
The school uses an income cap to ensure that the students enrolling are among the most vulnerable. This is done to bring more opportunities to these families. Cristo Rey students have significant economic need: more than 97 percent qualify for the federal free or reduced lunch program.
More than 90 percent of the school's operating budget is funded through donations and a work-study model allows students to also pay for the education themselves. Each student works five days per month in businesses or other entities throughout the Sacramento region to gain real-world work experiences. Cristo Rey has more than 100 businesses and community organizations partnering with its work-study program. These sponsoring companies allow students to earn 60 percent of the cost of their education and tuition assistance is available to all families at the school with demonstrated financial need.
There are currently 310 students enrolled at Cristo Rey and 95 percent of the student population is Hispanic or Latino. Most of the students are first-generation students who are taking advantage of as many resources available to pay for school. About 33 percent of higher education students today are the first in their families to attend college, according to data from the U.S. Department of Education.
The public can support this campaign at supportmercyfoundation.org/CRHS/SecuringtheDream.