Holy Family Cristo Rey Catholic High School is pushing the boundaries of what is possible when it comes to educating and preparing our next generation. By emphasizing interpersonal skills, self-discipline and work experience, Cristo Rey educates and transforms. By raising expectations and creating opportunities, Holy Family Cristo Rey places a premium on the future of its students.
Holy Family Cristo Rey opened its doors in 2007 to serve economically disadvantaged youth in Birmingham and garnered the support of the corporate community during a time of economic uncertainty. Through our Corporate Internship Program, Holy Family Cristo Rey provides students with a unique, four-year corporate work study experience in which the school teams with corporations to place students in entry-level jobs. The wages they earn support more than half the cost of a student’s college preparatory education.
Through this program, Christian & Small sponsored Holy Family Cristo Rey student Alexandria Thomas at Childcare Resources, a non-profit located in downtown Birmingham. Alexandria, who plans to attend college and medical school at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), says the lessons she learned at Childcare Resources have helped her in the classroom and to prepare for life in and after college. “Being at Holy Family has made me a better student.”
Alexandria’s experience is attributable to the transformative expectations and innovative methods that allow students at Holy Family Cristo Rey to re-imagine their futures. This results-driven approach opens doors for students who have been overlooked by the public education system, and it also gives the Birmingham corporate community an opportunity to make a tangible, measurable difference.
Joan Wright, executive director at Childcare Resources, said Christian & Small is to be commended for investing in students’ lives at Holy Family Cristo Rey by sponsoring an internship for Alexandria. “We want children to get the best life possible, and college is a big part of that,” Ms. Wright says. “The people of Christian & Small, by supporting Alexandria, are showing that they care about our community.”
Birmingham businesses have stepped up in a significant way to support this work-study program, with more than 90 organizations from practically every sector participating in the program. Please visit Holy Family Cristo Rey’s website ( www.hfcristorey.org) to learn more about the Corporate Work Study Program, or contact Kirk Mitchell at 205.263.0139 (kmitchell@hfcristorey.org).