| Supporter Profile: Larry Hyde, Making a Difference Around the World & at Catholic Leadership Institute |
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Larry Hyde has been a supporter of Catholic Leadership Institute for close to a decade. He has generously given of his time, talent and treasure to help the Institute grow and expand its leadership formation programs.
Larry recently took time out of his busy travel schedule to sit down with Catholic Leadership Institute and share his incredible story as a lifelong philanthropist.
A quote from Susan Sontag, author and film maker, is the perfect motto for longtime Catholic Leadership Institute supporter, Larry Hyde: “I haven’t been everywhere, but it’s on my list.”
In April, Larry visited East Timor, the last country on his 49 year tour of the 193 member states of the United Nations. When he returned home, rest was the farthest thing from this 85-year-old’s mind. “I said to myself, now what do I do?” The question hardly had time to resonate in his conscience. He guaranteed he wouldn’t be “navigating local waters” (as his answer machine recites) for very long; more trips would beckon; his work far from complete. When Larry travels, he travels with a purpose: to give and to watch his giving multiply.
Since his days as a professional in the automotive industry, Larry has set out to make a difference. Through his endless network of friends (including Jesuit priests), he has helped to build schools and libraries all over the world. He has a particular interest in training seminarians, especially those in Africa and Asia were seminary enrollment is counted in the thousands. He and his late wife adopted 23 children in the country of Myanmar (formerly known as Burma) in order to give them a quality education.
Larry has watched Catholic Leadership Institute expand and grow from its early years of leadership programs for youth and young adults to the formation curriculums now available for clergy, parish staff and diocesan leaders. He says the growth that the organization has experienced is both “exciting and attractive.” “Catholic Leadership Institute is making a great contribution to strengthen the Church in the United States.”
“Knowing what he gives to others will multiply itself, is what motivates him to continue to give,” said Steve Hyde, Larry’s son and Board Member of Catholic Leadership Institute. “He sees that same quality in the leadership training offered by Catholic Leadership Institute.”
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