December 6, 2011 // Local

Saint Joseph’s community hosted annual projects

Todays Catholic

The Saint Joseph’s High School community rakes leaves as part of the Work for Saint Joe project in November.

SOUTH BEND — November is the month for two of Saint Joseph’s High School’s largest service projects — the Work for Saint Joe and the h.o.p.e. Thanksgiving Food Drive.

This year, 538 students, parents, and teachers ventured to rake leaves and wash windows for those not able to take care of fall cleanup on their own. The Work For Saint Joe began with Mass in the gym. After Mass, everyone grabbed rakes, gathered with their groups, piled into parent-driven cars and headed for their first stop.

It takes a great deal of time and coordination to make this day successful. After names were received from Real Services and students signed up in teams through their theology classes, the organizers matched parent drivers to teams and destinations.

The annual h.o.p.e. Food Drive kicked off on Nov. 1. By the day of delivery, almost everyone in the school played a role in the food drive.

All members of the Saint Joseph’s community made a commitment. Sponsoring a family this year was $50. Individual pledges ranged from $5 to multiple families. This year 416 families were pledged, totaling $20,800.

What had taken weeks of preparation and hours of work disappeared from the gym within an hour. The boxes and bags of groceries were on their way to the families, as volunteer drivers delivered not only food but also hope and good wishes.