Holy Family Service Day
As Holy Family students walk from class to class either talking with friends, scrambling last minute to study for a test, or listening to music, they are surrounded by symbols and artwork that convey Holy Family’s four core values: integrity, scholarship, leadership, and faith.
One school day, every year, Holy Family students and staff dedicate themselves to service, or the value of faith. Freshmen and Sophomores typically serve at Feed My Starving Children, packaging thousands of meals for children who are malnourished. Juniors work together to organize and prepare for Holy Family’s annual gala, Spirit of Fire, and Seniors serve in a variety of ways: some delivering meals, some raking leaves, and others volunteering at a local food shelf.
Each year provides a different service opportunity and experience that helps in educating the student and teaching him or her about the importance of compassion, social action, and helping others in less fortunate circumstances. I decided to interview one student from each grade at Holy Family about his or her experience of service day and how he or she will continue to serve our local and global community throughout high school, college, and life.
Sophomore Lauren Taylor and freshmen Luke O’brien volunteered at Feed My Starving Children, packing thousands of meals for children in need in Nicaragua. After Holy Family’s service day, Lauren learned that doing service not only helps those in need, but is also rewarding and a fun way to dedicate one’s time. When asked how Lauren will continue her service throughout high school, she responded by saying, “I want to continue to volunteers at local places and consistently spend my free time helping those who are less fortunate than me.” While volunteering at Feed My Starving Children, Luke put the rice in the bowl while the reset of his friends added the remaining ingredients. Senior “team leader”Jake Bornhoft executed the final step in the assembly line: sealing the bag of food close. Luke said that from serving he realized how lucky he is to have a meal everyday and how fortunate he is to go to school.
As a Junior, Holly Trombley spent her volunteer day preparing for Holy Family’s Spirit of Fire Gala. She completed tasks with fellow classmates such as setting up chairs, making name tags, and hanging up decorations around the school. When asked what Holly took away from her service experience, she responded by saying, “I learned if you work together, you can accomplish big things. If one person tried to set up the entire event, it would take weeks, if not months. I also realized that working together not only makes the process easier, but more enjoyable as well!” Holly plans to continue her service by volunteering at different events in the community and by serving breakfast at her local church.
Seniors split up among various organizations to serve their time. One of these organizations was Simpson House. Along with seven other students, Senior Colin Dosedel spent his service day at a homeless shelter in Minneapolis scraping the floors, painting and washing walls, and organizing hundreds of donated goods and blankets. Colin left the shelter in Minneapolis with the heart breaking insight that “Simpson House and the other homeless shelters in Minneapolis simply do not have room for everyone, which leaves families out in the cold.” Colin believes that all members of the community should be required to do more to help. Colin plans on continuing his service through college by making and serving breakfast at local shelters.
Holy Family is unique in that it dedicates an entire school day to serving the local community. However, students’ service should not step after service day. I encourage my fellow classmates and teachers to embrace service opportunities that are offered, whether they are on a local scale (Simpson House or local food shelf) or on a global scale (Feed My Starving Children or a service trip). As privileged citizens who are blessed with an education, family, and home, it is our duty to serve those in less fortunate circumstances. Above all, we must show compassion and empathy towards every human being and remind ourselves how easily we could be in their hapless situation.