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

T H E B A LT I M O R E C O M M U N I T Y F O U N D AT I O N N E W S L E T T E R

S P R I N G 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 floor, and boots up her computer at her desk.

She’s also just 15.  “Well, the first thing I usually do is

water the plants,” she says. “They look kind of dead by the time I’ve been gone for a week.”

Maria is a sophomore at Cristo Rey Jesuit High School, and as a school requirement, spends five days each month at BCF helping to file, answer phones, and greet visitors. It’s more than a practice in office basics, though – she’s also learning a lot about philanthropy.

“I always thought a grant was just someone giving money to someone else, but now I know it’s more complicated than that,” says Maria. “If there’s a person who wants to donate money, they may be struggling to see where they can make a difference. BCF helps to find 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, it’s not until they get out of college that they get this kind of career experience.” 

The internship program is a crucial component of the school’s curriculum. In addition to a rigorous academic schedule, each student works at a

paid internship for five full days each month of their high school career.

“Expectations are very high for our students at their internships,” says Janet. “Their supervisors have me on speed dial.”

It would seem that college admissions offices like what they see –

Cristo Rey has a 100 percent college acceptance rate.

 The internship program is a crucial component of the school’s 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 O’Neil and BCF COO Amy Seto

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

program, and their families average an annual income of $30,921.

“An intern’s pay from their employers, or corporate sponsors as we call them, goes straight to the student’s tuition.” says Janet. “It works well for everyone involved – it’s 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 Thomas O’Neil, vice president at the investment firm 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 nonprofit organization. The nonprofit 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 Tom’s 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, he’ll be sponsoring four interns to work at BCF next year.  

“The community as a whole comes out as a winner, too,” says Tom. “When these kids become well-rounded adults ready to enter the workforce, it’s a huge advantage for Baltimore.”

The winning combination is certainly working out for Maria. “I’m 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 it’s so much more. You build relationships and friendships.”

“Maria has been a fantastic addition to our BCF staff,” says Amy Seto, BCF’s executive vice president and chief operating officer. “Her hard work makes our office run more smoothly, and she always has a smile at the ready. Her positivity and curiosity is contagious, and we’re incredibly thankful to Tom O’Neil and DF Dent for the opportunity to work with her.” 

Maria’s 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 she’ll find out how much more it is than that.” n