Catholic schools nationwide have benefited from Shea Homes’ incredible generosity over the years. John Shea, who passed away in 2022, had a particular passion for inner-city Catholic schools. He once was quoted as saying, “If you really want to help inner-city families, the best place to put your efforts and your dollars is in Catholic schools.”
For the past ten years, our Denver Catholic schools have benefited from Shea Homes’ generosity and passion for supporting Catholic education.
Shea Homes is well known in Colorado, having achieved success over the past 28 years as masterplan community developers and homebuilders.
“With that success, it is equally important to give back to our communities in a meaningful way,” said Chetter Latcham, President of Shea Homes Colorado. “We firmly believe this can be achieved by advancing opportunities for underserved communities and specifically, our educational facilities. As ‘builders,’ we are able to accomplish this by providing new and improved learning spaces, STEM programs and modern technology, which all contribute to improved educational outcomes.”
Shea Homes has donated over $30 million to help Catholic schools in Colorado, including Annunciation in Denver, Sts. Peter & Paul in Wheat Ridge, St. Therese in Aurora, Guardian Angels in Denver, St. Francis de Sales in Denver, Wellspring Catholic Academy at St. Bernadette in Lakewood, Escuela de Guadalupe in Denver, St. John Paul the Great High School in Denver, Arrupe Jesuit High School in Denver and St. Clare of Assisi in Edwards.
Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila recently expressed his gratitude for Shea Homes’ ongoing generosity. "Our Catholic schools serve as important apostolates of the Church. On behalf of the Archdiocese of Denver, I am deeply grateful to Shea Homes for their generous support by addressing crucial upgrades to so many of our school facilities," he said.
Work in our schools over the past 10 years has included building STEM labs, adding air conditioning units and security systems, replacing flooring, lighting, paint and plaster, replacing lockers, doing asbestos mitigation, improving technology, and renovating bathrooms, gymnasiums and playgrounds. The long list doesn’t even begin to encapsulate all the incredible work done to upgrade the aging facilities at many of our Catholic schools.
New Superintendent Dr. Kemmery Hill understands well the challenges that many of our schools face. “As the former principal of a one-hundred-year-old building, I know just how difficult it is to keep up with the costs of an aging facility. Having such a generous donor in Shea Homes is life-giving for our schools,” she said.
One of the schools which has benefitted tremendously is Sts. Peter & Paul Catholic STEM School in Wheat Ridge.
“Shea Homes has been such a blessing to Sts. Peter & Paul Catholic STEM School,” said Sr. Ines Sandoval, Principal. “Their investment of over $1.1 million has augmented student health and safety, increased program capacity and enriched professional capacity.”
Shea helped the school retrofit their entry and front office area and install security doors and cameras. Existing rooms were repurposed and remodeled to become state-of-the-art STEM labs. Shea funded renovations for their preschool's opening by installing bathrooms and sinks. Additionally, they remodeled the teacher's lounge and kitchenette, upgraded air conditioning units for classrooms, purchased desks and installed LED lights throughout the building.
“Shea Homes continues to support Sts. Peter & Paul Catholic STEM School's efforts to provide a life-giving and meaningful environment in which every child can flourish,” Sr. Sandoval continued.
Thanks to Shea Homes, work is now being finished this summer at two more of our Catholic schools, Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Welby and St. Rose of Lima in Denver.
In the past, students at Assumption had to cross a busy street just to go to recess. Now, they will be able to safely go out the school’s gym doors into an amazing space built just for them. The school received nearly $1 million from Shea to excavate, resurface and repaint the parking lot between the church and around the school, install a new play surface on the west side of the school, install new playground equipment, relocate and expand the preschool playground, and install new security fencing around the entire playground area.
“Thanks to Shea Homes, the children of Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Catholic School will have a safe and spectacular playground to enjoy starting this school year!” Dr. Darin Lovelace, Principal at Assumption, said. “We also appreciate Shea's generosity in repaving our school parking area, which had become uneven and worn from many decades of use. We pray that God grants many blessings to Shea Homes for their care of our Catholic schools!”
At St. Rose of Lima, Shea invested $2.7 million to update their school building. Main projects include new lighting, heating, cooling, windows and paint throughout. New flooring was installed in the main hallway, offices and cafeteria space. A brand-new cafeteria space was redone by taking out an old stage and leveling the floor. New appliances are also being installed; plumbing was updated; and student bathrooms were completely renovated. Cabinetry and new whiteboards were also added to each classroom.
“The generosity of Shea Homes is extremely humbling,” said St. Rose Principal Tricia Cardenas. “This gift signals that God has a unique plan for St. Rose of Lima, a plan that encompasses a new standard of excellence not only in the features and surfaces of our building but also in our academic pursuits and in our Catholic formation. This incredibly generous gift to St. Rose of Lima will allow future generations of students to experience their Catholic education in a beautiful, functional and safe environment.”
The generosity of Shea Homes will continue to impact our Catholic schools and students for generations. We have been richly blessed by Mr. Shea’s love of Catholic schools and his deep belief in giving back to support Catholic education.
(All photos in the gallery by Ken Mostek/Mostek Photography)
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