Mercy High School Announces Largest Gift from an Individual Donor

Mercy High School, a private, Catholic, college preparatory school for girls in grades 9-12, announced today a $1 million donation from Baltimore philanthropist Mary Catherine Bunting to begin implementation of the International Baccalaureate Programme and to strengthen faculty and staff compensation.

The donation is the largest single gift from an individual ever received by Mercy High School.

Bunting served as a certified nurse practitioner for many years at Mercy Medical Center and is a former Sister of Mercy, the religious order that founded and sponsors Mercy High School.

In 2012, the Dorothy Williams Bunting Science Center, named after Bunting's mother, opened at Mercy High School.

"Mary Catherine Bunting's generosity is transformational for Mercy High School," said Mary Beth Lennon, president. "Next academic year we will begin introducing the International Baccalaureate Programme, a highly respected program of international education that develops the intellectual, personal, emotional and social skills needed to live, learn and work in a rapidly globalizing world, to our 9th and 10th grade students."

"This month Mercy High School became a candidate school for the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme and is pursuing authorization as an International Baccalaureate World School. These are schools that share a common philosophy--a commitment to high quality, challenging, international education that Mercy High School believes is important for its students," Lennon explained.

"Ms. Bunting's support of our efforts helps us pursue our core values of educational excellence, global vision and responsibility, compassion and service, concern for women, and spiritual growth and development," Lennon said. "We are deeply grateful to Ms. Bunting for her leadership gift."

Bunting said, "My whole life is Mercy. Peace, justice and global understanding are so important to me, and the work being done at Mercy High School toward becoming an International Baccalaureate World School and its commitment to the values of service, justice and compassion among people of diverse backgrounds in Baltimore is so affirming."

Located on a 26-acre campus in Baltimore, Mercy High School is a private, Catholic, college preparatory school for young women of diverse backgrounds in grades 9-12.  The school's Women in Medicine Program in partnership with Mercy Medical Center and its fine arts offerings are well-known throughout the Greater Baltimore area. The school provides its students with rigorous academics, enabling them to form habits of lifelong inquiry, critical thinking and courageous action in a global society. For more information about Mercy High School, visit mercyhighschool.com.