Cristo Rey Oklahoma City launches holiday match, seeks partners for Corporate Work Study program


Oklahoma City – Through the holiday season, all donations made to Cristo Rey Oklahoma City Catholic High School (Cristo Rey OKC)  will be matched up to $500,000, thanks to a generous donor.

“We are so grateful for the corporate partners, supporters and donors we have throughout the metro that support our students and school,” Cristo Rey OKC President Chip Carter said. “Thanks to this match, our students will have access to the tools and resources they need to continue learning and growing both inside the classroom and in their professional journeys.”

The goal of Cristo Rey OKC is to put students on a path to successfully graduate from college so they can have a fulfilling career. To do so, every student participates in the school’s Corporate Work Study Program where students work five days a month at partnered businesses which covers a majority of their educational expense. Scholarships from individual community donors help bridge the gap to make the school accessible.

Cristo Rey OKC is one of 37 schools within the Cristo Rey Network that delivers a powerful and innovative approach to equip students of limited economic resources with the knowledge, character, and skills to transform their lives. [Link for Cristo Rey Oklahoma City Catholic High School (Cristo Rey OKC): https://www.cristoreyokc.org/]

“This match is a great opportunity for the community to invest in the future leaders of Oklahoma City,” Carter continued. “We look forward to continuing not only making a difference in these students’ lives, but also making a difference within our business community in the coming years.” 
To participate in the match, donate to Cristo Rey OKC by visiting here:  https://www.cristoreyokc.org/donate .

In related news, Cristo Rey is calling on Oklahoma City businesses to become a partner and help train students, who represent the city’s future workforce.
The school’s Corporate Work Study Program is one of the things that makes the high school unique. The program offers an opportunity for students to understand the value of hard work while helping stabilize high-turnover positions for businesses, reduce burnout in full-time staff, and bring community engagement into workplaces. 

However, due to COVID-19, the school is experiencing an extreme shortage of business partners.
“The impact COVID-19 has had on the education industry is striking, but Oklahoma students are some of the ones suffering the most,” Chip Carter said in a recent release. “Our business partners are the reason our students can gain access to the professional and educational opportunities that they otherwise may never receive.”

Assuming the role of an employee-leasing agency, the Corporate Work Study Program has streamlined the process for employing students. Through a fee-for-service contract, paid quarterly, annually, or monthly by the sponsoring organization, our students are employed through the Corporate Work Study Program and assigned jobs at our individual partners. 

Students work in a four-person, job-sharing team to fill one full-time equivalent position during standard daily business hours, Monday through Friday, for the entire academic year. Academic schedules are structured so that students work without ever missing class.

“One of our initiatives at The Boldt Company is to inspire and educate future leaders about the many careers open in the construction field. We’re excited so many young people can be exposed to futures that use STEM skills,” said Tony Yanda, Senior Director of The Boldt Company, “It’s exciting to see the skills and abilities our Cristo Rey OKC student workers develop as they are exposed to more opportunities.”

Cristo Rey OKC began in 2018 and oversees the educational and career development of students with limited resources. (https://capitolbeatok.worldsecuresystems.com/reports/fall-2017-cristo-rey-catholic-high-school-will-open-in-oklahoma-city)
Out of those 232 students, however, 77 of them are without a business partner — keeping them from receiving on-the-job training that not only propels their personal and professional skills, but diminishes the reason they chose to attend Cristo Rey OKC in the first place.

“We are calling on our Oklahoma City community to support our students — our future workforce — in this time of need,” Carter said. “When businesses choose to partner with our school, they receive top-notch talent at a highly-competitive rate, in addition to the satisfaction of contributing to a student’s brighter future.”

For more information or for businesses interested in becoming a Corporate Work Study Partner, visit CristoReyOKC.org/work-study. 

About Cristo Rey Oklahoma City: Cristo Rey OKC Catholic High School is a Catholic learning community that educates young people of limited economic means to become men and women of faith, knowledge, purpose and service. A member of the national Cristo Rey Network of 37 schools, Cristo Rey OKC combines rigorous academics with real-world work experience, seeking to prepare their students for success in college and life. As part of Cristo Rey’s unique Corporate Work Study Program, students work one day a week in professional settings, earning a majority of their own tuition.