‘You get more than you give’: Diocesan community members honored in National Philanthropy Day Awards
Honorees Jim Breen, Debbie Morrison, Michael Halloran, and Jasmin Wells were honored at a National Philanthropy Day luncheon at the Ridglea Country Club, November 12, 2024. (NTC/Rodger Mallison)
FORT WORTH — The Diocese of Fort Worth was well represented with four honorees who received 2024 National Philanthropy Day Awards from the Association of Fundraising Professionals Fort Worth Metro Chapter. The award winners were honored at a luncheon Nov. 12 at the Ridglea Country Club in Fort Worth.
According to the AFP, the purpose of this day is to recognize great contributions of philanthropy.
Renée Underwood, Chief Development Officer of the Advancement Foundation for the diocese, said giving to others is a key part of the Catholic faith and a result of gratitude.
Underwood, who nominated two of the winners (the Stephen Breen Memorial Foundation and Michael Halloran), noted philanthropy inspires others “to lives of gratitude.”
She added, “There are many Catholic faithful who live lives of stewardship, not just attending Sunday Mass but breathing through their pores and spilling out all around them in acts of service.”
Here are the honorees who are part of the diocesan community:
Outstanding Philanthropic Entity: The Stephen Breen Memorial Foundation
A tragedy gave birth to the Stephen Breen Memorial Foundation.
Jim Breen’s son Stephen died of cancer at the age of 15 on Oct. 4, 2004. At the time, he was a sophomore at Nolan Catholic High School and a graduate of St. Andrew Catholic School in Fort Worth.
Before he died, Stephen told his family that if they ever wanted to start a foundation in his memory, he wanted it to go to two causes he cared about: helping families afford Catholic education and helping kids with cancer and their families.
Thus, the Breen family established the Stephen Breen Memorial Foundation.
In the last 20 years, the foundation has provided $2.6 million in tuition assistance to students attending the 17 Catholic schools in the Fort Worth Diocese.
More than $350,000 has benefited children fighting cancer through Cook Children’s Hospital in Fort Worth, the nearby Ronald McDonald House and the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
For Jim Breen, the foundation is Stephen’s lasting legacy and has had a tremendous impact on the community and the Breen family.
He encouraged others to look around in their neighborhoods and parishes and find ways they can help.
“I’m sure a lot of young people think, ‘I can’t help anybody. I don’t have financial resources.’ But here’s a way a 15-year-old kid figured out a way to help people,” Jim Breen said.
Initially, the donors were people who knew Stephen. Now there are many donors who never met him but believe in the mission.
“This is a labor of love,” Jim Breen said. “Like in most cases, you get more than you give.”
Outstanding Philanthropist: Debbie Morrison
Debbie Morrison and her husband Charlie Morrison have been part of the Cristo Rey Fort Worth Board of Directors since the school was founded in 2018, after the couple took part in the feasibility committee.
Cristo Rey’s unique model includes a rigorous college preparatory program and a work-study component where businesses and organizations contribute to students’ tuition. This allows students who might otherwise not be able to afford a private education the opportunity to attend the school while gaining valuable work experience.
For Morrison, the most rewarding part of her involvement in Cristo Rey is seeing the transformation of the students.
“We have 13-year-old 8th graders come into interviews who say, ‘Mom and Dad are making me do this,’” she said. “By the end of freshman year or in the sophomore year, you see them give presentations in front of hundreds of people, speaking fluently and confidently. It’s amazing!”
Students leave with four internships with businesses or organizations, which they can place on their resume and help them decide their future career.
Morrison and husband Charlie Morrison, the current CEO of Salad and Go and former CEO of Wingstop, also give a scholarship to one Cristo Rey graduate each year to attend Kansas State.
Other charities she’s helped lead include the Fort Worth Botanic Gardens, Metroport Meals on Wheels, and Fort Worth Legatus.
“Giving to others is one of the best ways to lift your own spirits,” she said. “Find something that speaks to your passion and get involved.”
Outstanding Advisor: Michael Halloran
Michael Halloran, the managing partner of Clearfork Wealth Management, believes that anyone, no matter their level of wealth, can have a legacy that greatly impacts others.
“It’s a big myth that you have to be super wealthy to have an impact on causes you care about,” he said. “No matter the amount of wealth you have, you can have an impact.”
Halloran started a new philanthropic effort related to his business called Clearfork Cares, which has given more than $100,000 to charities since it started in 2016.
Last year, Clearfork Cares gave out $27,000 to charities in four different areas: education, animal causes, human services, and other nonprofits. More than 80,000 people participated in voting via social media.
Halloran also volunteers every summer at Camp Moss, a summer camp for children with congenital heart disease after he had two open heart surgeries in 2012 for a congenital heart defect.
“These are young people who get wrapped in bubble wrap,” he said. “This is their opportunity to have a summer camp experience in a camp staffed by doctors and nurses.”
Halloran also is on the Advancement Foundation’s Board of Directors, after serving for many years on the Board of Directors for St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic School in Keller.
“Catholic education is the solution to many of the challenges we face, from the priest shortage and declining attendance at Mass to cultural and financial illiteracy,” he said.
Halloran added, “I’m not a self-made man; everything I have is from God. And God is calling us to experience more of Him by giving to others.”
Emerging Leader in Philanthropy: Jasmin Wells
One of five recipients to be awarded as an Emerging Leader in Philanthropy, Wells is the Annual Fund Manager at Cristo Rey Fort Worth. Since starting the job in August, Wells has helped boost the school’s fundraising and outreach.
She was working as a grant writer at the YMCA of Fort Worth when she saw the listing for the job at Cristo Rey.
“When I look back, I think Cristo Rey found me,” Wells said.
She interviewed with Jessica Walsh, the Vice President of Development, and caught the vision for Cristo Rey.
“The focus on education and opportunity aligned and clicked for me,” she said.
Her favorite part of the job?
“I would say being in an environment where I get to see the kids every day walking to class or coming back from corporate work study,” she said. “I hear their stories and their outlook on the future.”