The way the St. Mary's junior class cared for the hungry in the our community on April 1 was no joke. In the school's first coordinated day of service, junior signed up to volunteer for either a morning or an afternoon shift at Care & Share Food Back.
The students learned what Care & Share does and who they help. Kristine Barrett, one of the parents who helped organize the day, said it was a wonderful day of teamwork and service.
"They not only had fun but felt proud to serve our community in this way," she said. "It is a huge part of our Catholic mission."
Now Barrett would like to bring the whole St. Mary's community into the effort in a couple of ways. First, students can participate in a trivia event to win a $10 Dutch Bros. certificate. Details are below.
Second, here is how all students can help the community. The junior class decided to follow up with their experience with a class competition food drive between the four classes by collecting canned fruits and proteins (beans, tuna, etc.) with the goal of 1885 cans (since St. Mary’s opened in 1885). This drive will end on April 30 so students are encouraged students to bring in their donations with their names and CLASS GRADE on them.
Cans can be dropped off as follows: seniors, Mr. Rose's classroom; juniors, Mrs. Knoepke's classroom; sophomores, Mr. Barkley; and freshman, Fr. Joe's classroom. Prize will be awarded for the class that collects the most cans in April!
Student Trivia: How many pounds of food did Care & Share distribute in 2021? Submit answers to Kristine Barrett (patrick_kristine@yahoo.com) to enter drawing for $10 Dutch Bros certificate! Thanks go out to Mr. Archuleta, dean of students, for helping coordinate the day and for organizing transportation. And we couldn't have done it without our parent volunteers Lori Trechter, Tara Cuccinelli & Robin Watson.
St. Mary’s plans to offer more of these student service opportunities in the future.