"We find ourselves in a unique, unprecedented, extraordinary situation...we are vulnerable and that vulnerability is asking us 'what is truly important?' We are called to remember what is most important and act with love."
Preston Kendall, President, Cristo Rey St. Martin
Preston Kendall's Welcome Message
WHAT WILL YOUR CONTRIBUTION DO?
Support our Counselors and Nurses - The annual cost of these services is $200,000 or $500 per student. The COVID 19 Pandemic has made our counselors’ and nurses’ work more important than ever. They are working long hours dealing with the health and emotional challenges our students and their families are now facing.
Bolster the Corporate Work Study Program - The cost for a team of students is $36,000 a year or $900 per week. Our innovative work study program makes a college prep education possible for our students. The program also absorbs the cost of student workers for local non-profits, organizations that are lifelines to a community plagued with unemployment, poverty, hunger and homelessness.
Provide Tuition Assistance - Family tuition payments total $500,000 annually or $1,250 per student. Though our students earn tuition through work study, families are also required to pay a portion of tuition. The economic damage from the pandemic is particularly devastating to disadvantaged communities; it is affecting our families’ ability to pay tuition.
Support Remote Learning - Providing computers to our incoming freshmen will cost $40,000 or $300 per student. Each student receives a Chromebook when they begin their journey at CRSM. The pandemic forced CRSM into remote learning, making laptop computers, e-learning content and internet access mission critical.
Build the Emergency Fund - Our recent appeal raised $55,000 with an anticipated need for an additional $100,000. These funds allow us to distribute food, help CRSM families with rent and send college emergency assistance to alumni in need.
Board Members Share
Why They Support CRSM
Meet Our Featured Speaker
Kevin Castro is a 2013 graduate of Cristo Rey St. Martin. A Honduran native, he is a global business professional specializing in Project Management and Enterprise Strategies at AbbVie. Kevin first began his career with AbbVie in high school as a student worker through our Corporate Work Study Program. He now drives value in the company’s Finance and Human Resources functions. He also serves as a Community Outreach Co-Chair of AbbVie’s Hispanic Employee Resources Group known as AHORA. Kevin graduated from Connecticut College as a Posse Foundation Scholar where he obtained his Bachelor of Arts in International Relations, with a minor in Economics. He enjoys spending time with his wife Gaby (also a CRSM alumna from the class of 2013!) and their newborn son, running marathons and co-managing the operations of his family-owned business.
Thank you to our generous sponsors
If this is your first time attending our gala, we’ll try to give you a feel for our past Founders’ events. Whether you’re a veteran or a rookie we love that you’re here with us in spirit!
We can’t let the COVID 19 Pandemic get in the way of our mission…to empower young people of limited economic means to become men and women of faith, purpose and service. Through a rigorous college preparatory curriculum, integrated with a relevant work study experience, students graduate ready to succeed in college and in life.
On the right side of this page you can see a counter that is tallying everyone’s gifts in real time. As you scroll down, you will see descriptions of what your contribution will do, and a message from our own Kevin Castro ’13.
We hope you enjoy stopping by – and thank you in advance for your generosity.
AN ANONYMOUS ANGEL JUST GAVE US $50,000 AND WE MATCHED IT!
If you'd like to make your donation from a donor advised fund, via pledge, or quadrupling the amount of your gift through the IL Tax Credit Scholarship program, and still want to be counted toward our Virtual Founders' goal, please contact Reese Marcusson, Director of Development at (847) 902-9880 or rmarcusson@cr-sm.org. Many corporations have matching gift programs and will match charitable contributions made by their employees. Please reach out if we can be of assistance.