On April 12, the 10th grade class from Bishop O'Connell dispersed throughout the Washington metropolitan area for a day of service, where they rolled up their sleeves at more than a dozen different facilities, including the following:
Arlington Food Assistance Center
Capital Area Food Bank
Central Union Mission
Christ House
Cornerstones
DC Central Kitchen
Food and Friends
Hope of Northern Virginia
The Lamb Center
Our Daily Bread
Powhatan Nursing Home
St. Martin de Porres Senior Center
United Community Ministries
The Lamb Center
The Virginian
During sophomore retreat activities at the school, students also made 564 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and donated 44 loaves of bread and 360 + Ziploc bags to Martha's Table. In additions, the students took the time to write letters to the troops that will be mailed out this week.
"Our hope for all our student retreat programs has been to provide our students with meaningful experiences of faith," said school chaplain, Rev. Gregory Thompson.
The service day was met with rave reviews from the students and organizations alike:
"I really enjoyed getting to know the people we were helping and taking an active role in serving others," said Serena Swanson (serving at the Lamb Center).
"I really grew spiritually and felt closer with the Lord and was able to see Him in those who were there," added Jordon Wilson (serving at the Capital Area Food Bank).
Special thanks to senior Maura Mooney for creating this video.
Pictured - Students lend a hand at DC Central Kitchen.