The John C. Mithun Foundation has pledged to donate $1.5 million to the Royal
Pride Foundation for the San Marcos High School Building Community Wellness
project.
The gift, which is believed to be the single largest donation ever to the San Marcos High School community. was announced by Principal Dare Holdren at the Royal Pride Foundation annual benefit May 3.
The Building Community Wellness Project is a two-phase plan that involves redesigning and transforming the current campus wellness center into a state-of-the-art facility that will serve as a hub for physical, emotional and mental wellness on campus.
The project will also create a new “mini-campus” for the Health Careers Academy (HCA), allowing for significant enhancement and expansion of the highly successful program.
“The San Marcos community is extremely appreciative of the John C. Mithun
foundation and their trustees, Jack Mithun, Mercedes Millington, and Susan Torrey for
their incredibly generous support of this transformative project,” Holdren said.
“The Wellness Center renovation will help San Marcos better respond to the mental health needs of our school and community, and de-stigmatize seeking out support by moving our mental and emotional support services away from the front office to a comfortable, intentionally designed space.
“The new mini-campus for the Health Careers Academy will replace timeworn portables with five new classrooms that will enable Health Careers Academy 2.0, a re-imagined and expanded academy that will prepare students for health care careers in the local community through rigorous pathways, expanded career options, and internships for each student,” Holdren said.
As part of the donation, the new Health Careers Academy complex will be named in honor of Jack Mithun’s mother Doris B. Mithun, who served in the healthcare field as a dietitian and nutritionist.
“We are honored to support San Marcos High School and the development of the Building Community Wellness Project,” said Susan Torrey of the John C. Mithun Foundation. “As a cornerstone of our foundation, we know the critical importance of education. To us, this is more than a construction project.
“It is San Marcos paving the future for students receiving a dynamic education, and providing training and opportunities in meaningful ways for decades to come.”
● The Building Community Wellness Project is projected to cost $11 million, about half of which is coming from state bond money that must be spent on replacing portable classrooms with permanent ones.
● San Marcos is seeking to raise the rest of the needed funding through philanthropic donations and with the lead gift from the Mithun Foundation has raised nearly $2.5 million toward its $5.5 million goal.
● The Royal Pride Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting San Marcos High School, is the fiduciary entity for the project.
● Construction for the project is projected to begin in June 2025.
Naming opportunities for interior spaces and external gathering areas of the HCA
complex, as well as for the Wellness Center, are available. For more information
or to get involved, contact Principal Holdren at 805-689-7032 or dholdren@sbunified.org.