Loretto Foundation proudly supports Cristo Rey Columbus

Lamar Hunt Jr has gone beyond his years of service as a psychologist to underprivileged youth and donor to the Ozanam treatment centers. This time, in Columbus, Ohio, Hunt generously helped open an extraordinary high school.

The Cristo Rey network of Catholic schools offers high school education and college preparation to at-risk urban adolescents, helping them to build a better life than that which may be readily available in their communities. All thirty Cristo Rey schools are family- and success-centered, and is open to all faith denominations while upholding Catholic values. Most of Cristo Rey’s 6,900+ students come from families only making $34,000 a year as of 2015. The college preparatory aspect of the programs allow students to achieve financial stability with work-study and advancement programs.

At a time when Catholic schools across America were closing their doors, Hunt’s philanthropic Loretto Foundation gifted $100,000 to open Cristo Rey Catholic School in downtown Columbus in 2013. He and his wife Rita are honorary chairs for the high school. When the school’s doors opened, the school president spoke to The Columbus Dispatch regarding the hope that the school’s opening inspired, saying “The kids are in the workplace, exposed to professionals. In their neighborhoods, they’re not running into doctors and lawyers. This gives them an opportunity to work with them and understand that these professions are available to kids like them.” What sets Cristo Rey apart from other Catholic high schools is the network’s commitment to bettering the community by investing in people who normally would not be able to afford or access such an education.

Now Lamar Hunt Jr. is one of the professionals Cristo Rey students can look up to. With a background in music, psychology and real estate, Hunt shows that successful people can give back and build up communities that need it most.