Behind De La Salle Donors

Vituity Cares is a charitable foundation focused on improving the health of underserved communities in the United States. The foundation works in and with local communities to ensure a more equitable future for all by providing tuition assistance to support low-income scholars interested in pursuing careers in the science or healthcare space. It is Vituity’s belief that the people who have experience with inequities are the ones best equipped to build solutions.

With that in mind, Vituity recently partnered with De La Salle to assist young men interested in science and a Catholic Lasallian education. It comes at a time when there are disturbing disparities between health and healthcare among individuals due to race, socioeconomic status, and other discriminatory factors. As such, Vituity’s partnership with De La Salle has the potential to be a multiplier effect. Something that cannot be overstated.

“Our mission is to foster the next generation of healthcare professionals, particularly from underrepresented ethnic groups,” explains Theo Koury, MD AP ‘18, a doctor at John Muir Medical Center and President of Vituity Cares Foundation. “I know the superior education that De La Salle provides and, more importantly, the culture and mission of providing opportunities and support to young men through a Lasallian education. Our program provides $4,000 per year to a minority/under-represented student who wants to attend De La Salle and demonstrate an interest in the healthcare profession.”

The Owens family continues to leave its mark on De La Salle. Nearly a half-century ago, our Winton Drive football field was named after the father of six of our alumni: Owen Owens Jr. ‘74, Sean Owens ‘77, Patrick Owens ‘78, Terrance Owens ‘80, Kevin Owens ‘82, and Shannon Owens ‘87. It was a tribute to Owen Owens Sr. who was passionate about De La Salle football.

The Owens family’s impact on De La Salle goes back to 1974 when the Spartan football program was first established. Owen Owens Sr. was instrumental in getting the program off the ground. Owen Jr. stated, “It was not only doing something to help support a new program, but a matter of civic pride for him. The field, the stands, all of it. It is a little unfathomable what he helped build.”

Now, in memory of Sean, Patrick, and Terrance, who have each sadly passed, the family has endowed a permanent Owens Family Fund to provide financial aid to students enrolled at De La Salle. “The idea of doing something to remember our brothers and being able to help a family in need?” said Owen. “I couldn’t think of a more wonderful way to pay tribute to them.”

The Owens Family Fund, and its investment proceeds, will be used to assist De La Salle students with a financial need for tuition.

While their De La Salle careers could be considered legendary, it is the WardBoy Project that TJ ‘04 and Terron Ward ‘10 created with their family in 2017 that could prove to be the most impactful. Committed to enhancing the lives of Bay Area youth by helping them achieve their life goals and become leaders in their community, the foundation emphasizes the importance of good decision-making, positive mental and physical health, and consistent confidence.

“We want to afford kids that chance to maximize their potential, so everything that we do is to help the youth evolve into the best young adult that they can possibly be,” says TJ. “Since the Foundation (originally the TJ Ward Foundation in 2014) has been established we have impacted hundreds of kids.”

Following their retirement from the NFL, the brothers have been able to dedicate more time to the Project as well as develop a new vision of how to move forward. This vision includes more mentorship and programming, like the WARD program which stands for Willingness to Achieve the Reward of one’s Desires. The WARD program focuses on academics, leadership, life skills, and a mentor/mentee program. Volunteers meet with the youngsters 4-5 times a month to develop life skills. The Foundation has also worked on a Symposium to reach a larger audience that will include speakers that will touch on a variety of topics.

However, the WardBoy Project is not only supporting the youth of the Bay Area through its programming. It has also established a Named Family Fund at De La Salle to provide assistance to families in need. “It is important for us to give back; to give underserved kids that opportunity to have the same experience that we had,” says Terron. “You come here, and 9 out of 10 [students] are going to leave a better person.”

“The best way you can serve the community is to bring up the young people that live in that community,” says TJ. “There are people that are less fortunate and we have a community of service and you see these families that struggle and we want to be in God’s image and likeness. We are here to help others.”

If you’re interested in supporting one of De La Salle’s existing endowment programs or creating your own named fund, please reach out to Mark Chiarucci, Vice President for Advancement, at chiaruccim@dlshs.org.