Baltimore Community Foundation | 2 East Read Street, 9th oor, Baltimore, Maryland 21202 | 410-332-4171 | www.bcf.

org
T HE BAL T I MORE COMMUNI T Y FOUNDAT I ON NEWSL ET T ER
SPRI NG 2014
VOL. 14 NO. 1
Each Monday morning, Maria
Velazquez makes her way from
Southwest Baltimore to Mt. Vernon
to report for work at the Baltimore
Community Foundation. She catches a
bus, rides the elevator to the 9th foor,
and boots up her computer at her desk.
Shes also just 15.
Well, the frst thing I usually do is
water the plants, she says. Tey look
kind of dead by the time Ive been
gone for a week.
Maria is a sophomore at Cristo
Rey Jesuit High School, and as a
school requirement, spends fve days
each month at BCF helping to fle,
answer phones, and greet visitors. Its
more than a practice in ofce basics,
though shes also learning a lot about
philanthropy.
I always thought a grant was just
someone giving money to someone
else, but now I know its more
complicated than that, says Maria. If
theres a person who wants to donate
money, they may be struggling to see
where they can make a diference.
BCF helps to fnd a place for them.
I wish I had a chance to do this
when I was in high school, says Janet
Shock, the director of the Cristo Rey
Corporate Internship Program.
For most kids, its not until they get
out of college that they get this kind of
career experience.
Te internship program is a crucial
component of the schools curriculum.
In addition to a rigorous academic
schedule, each student works at a
paid internship for fve full days each
month of their high school career.
Expectations are very high for our
students at their internships, says
Janet. Teir supervisors have me on
speed dial.
It would seem that college
admissions ofces like what they see
Cristo Rey has a 100 percent college
acceptance rate.
Te internship program is a crucial
component of the schools economics,
too, because it underwrites the cost
of the students education. More than
80% of students at the school qualify
for the federal free or reduced lunch
INTERNSHIPS ON ANGELS WINGS:
Cristo Rey Program Puts Students to Work in Nonprofits
Cristo Rey student intern Maria Velazquez with angel sponsor Tom ONeil and BCF COO Amy Seto
Baltimore Community Foundation | 2 East Read Street, 9th oor, Baltimore, Maryland 21202 | 410-332-4171 | www.bcf.org
program, and their families average an annual income of
$30,921.
An interns pay from their employers, or corporate sponsors
as we call them, goes straight to the students tuition. says
Janet. It works well for everyone involved its a wonderful
arrangement.
But charitable-minded corporations or individuals
can amplify their impact by becoming an angel sponsor.
Angel sponsors take this win-win program and make
it a win-win-win, says Tomas ONeil, vice president at
the investment frm DF Dent who is also a Cristo Rey
Jesuit trustee and a long-time fund holder at the Baltimore
Community Foundation.
An angel sponsor pays for a student to work at a nonproft
organization. Te nonproft gets a needed set of extra hands,
the student gets meaningful work experience, and the angel
sponsor gets a tax deduction for their donation.
It was Toms idea for his company to sponsor an
intern for BCF this year, who turned out to be Maria
Velazquez.And he believes in the program so much, hell
be sponsoring four interns to work at BCF next year.
Te community as a whole comes out as a winner, too,
says Tom. When these kids become well-rounded adults
ready to enter the workforce, its a huge advantage for
Baltimore.
Te winning combination is certainly working out for Maria.
Im more prepared now for college life and a career, she says,
back at the front desk of BCF. I thought that a business was,
like, automatically a suit and tie, in a cubicle, bored all day. But
its so much more. You build relationships and friendships.
Maria has been a fantastic addition to our BCF staf,
says Amy Seto, BCFs executive vice president and chief
operating ofcer. Her hard work makes our ofce run
more smoothly, and she always has a smile at the ready. Her
positivity and curiosity is contagious, and were incredibly
thankful to Tom ONeil and DF Dent for the opportunity to
work with her.
Marias younger sister will be entering high school
next year and wants to go to Cristo Rey and be an intern
somewhere, too.
She just thinks it means less homework, says Maria
with her quick smile. But shell fnd out how much more
it is than that. n