Cristo Rey St. Martin is honored to have been selected as an inaugural recipient of The Paul Purcell “Kids Win!” Annual Baird Education Grant. The grant award was established as a tribute to former Baird Chairman Paul E. Purcell who passed away in February 2020. Mr. Purcell was a true champion of Cristo Rey for nearly 25 years. He frequently said he had three passions in life and his order of priority was always the same: his family, Baird and its associates, and education. He was proud of Cristo Rey and the tremendous impact on students’ lives . He was the second Chairperson of the original Cristo Rey Jesuit High School and then served on the board of the Cristo Rey Network.
This $100,000 grant is a significant step toward the start-up of an actual retail coffee shop on the CRSM campus – which will be run and staffed by students in the Corporate Work Study Program.
To ensure that the organizations Mr. Purcell served and guided were focused on what matters, he often asked, “Do the kids win?” Paul always came back to this simple, yet very clear guiding principle.
Preston Kendall, president of CRSM reminisced, “I had the privilege of working with Paul for more than 16 years on all things Cristo Rey. He was a sincere mentor, strategic thinker, unfailing cheerleader, and generous supporter to me and to all our schools. I am so grateful to Baird and take comfort in knowing that Paul is still a positive force in mine and so many others’ lives. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.”