Hi! We’re the Blanchards – Neil is moving into his first year as a manager with FOCUS Greek, and Mary juggles our two kids while working part time for the events team, helping plan the SEEK conference and many of the other events FOCUS puts on throughout the year!

Entering our 7th year with FOCUS, we can truly say that St. John Paul II was correct in saying “Life with Christ is a wonderful adventure”. Mary served at Montclair State and UMass Amherst before serving 3 years as a South Area Program Director. Neil was on campus at Wichita State, Northwestern State, Tulane, and Team Director at Mississippi State. The Lord has called our family to serve FOCUS in larger ways & we are once again saying yes!

Neil hails from South Louisiana, fostering a deep love for the LSU Tigers and the Catholic faith he was born into. Mary was born and raised in Maryland, and will always love her blue crabs, the state flag, and the centuries of history that the east coast is saturated with. While we didn’t meet until our second year of FOCUS, our faith journeys have many similarities. In the early years of college, we both put our Catholic faith on hold to have as much “fun” as possible, only to figure out that what is truly life-giving could not be found in the world being presented to us. Many people played a role in guiding us back to the living water that Christ offers, satiating our human thirst, and shaping who we are today. Stepping back into our faith with renewed fervor convicted us of sharing the Gospel with those around us, ultimately leading us to FOCUS and inspiring us 7 years on.

As we continue with the mission of FOCUS, we rely on the spiritual and financial support of mission partners to help our family. We have been blessed by an amazing team of people who have journeyed with us through various campuses, roles, and now as we move to Denver to serve in bigger ways. We’d be honored to share this mission with you, and we are more convicted than ever that this mission is worth it, and hope to share it with you. If you are interested in partnering with us, please let us know of the best way to reach you!