03. STRENGTHEN KEARNEY

Roughly 50-75% of all college graduates stay close to the area where they studied. St. Teresa’s has a profound and positive impact on the life that young people experience in Kearney and is part of the cause for many of them to choose to make their futures here. 

Another indicator of where young people settle is linked to where they meet their spouse and choose to get married. Across the nation it is not uncommon for a Newman Center to be the site of 100 or more weddings in a year, and St. Teresa’s will be no different once it has a suitable facility. When two families merge and new traditions begin at a wedding, it certainly matters where it happens.   

Thriving communities depend on successful businesses, large and small, to fuel local economies. Businesses depend on workforce, both quantity and quality. Kearney’s workforce quantity is rooted in more people wanting to live here and sink deep roots to the place. Workforce quality means skills, training and experience but it also means moral aspects, like honesty, dependability, and work ethic. On all of these fronts, St. Teresa’s has a role to play that is definitely making a difference for Kearney.