To get into the Christmas spirit, student clubs are raising funds and donations for local charities.
As students counted down to the Thanksgiving break, they were also counting up the bags, boxes and cans of food donated to Franciscan Outreach Center. Sponsored by the Student Government Association, the annual Thanksgiving Food Drive marked the start of HT’s holiday season and helped students reflect on the needs of our local community and how they can make a difference.
“Being a part of Student Government Association, we give back in many important ways, like the blood drive and food drive,” says Mellanie ’18, Vice President of SGA. “Just knowing we can help through HT makes the service even more memorable and makes me feel good. Our goal with SGA is to create easy ways for our classmates to give back. Raising money for charities is part of our identity as a student club and also as a school.”
The Food Drive collected more than 600 items, and the students had more to give. On the last day of school before break, the National Honor Society hosted a movie night with concessions to raise funds for Toys for Tots. This event raised $375!
Holy Trinity students have a long history of serving their communities through fundraisers and hands-on volunteering. Just this school year, NHS and Campus Ministry partnered together to raise more than $600 for hurricane relief efforts in Puerto Rico. Club Raíces raises funds for The Women’s Center throughout the year, through bake sales and dress down days. The Pet Club has donated $200 to PAWS, for support of pets that they brought in as the result of the hurricanes, and an additional $200 to Settler’s Pond, an animal rescue organization in Beecher, Illinois.
New this year, students’ Service Learning Groups are planning volunteer projects they can do as a team in addition to the annual all-school volunteer day held each spring.
“This is what HT is all about—teaching our students to lead lives of leadership and service,” says Marianne Lynch, principal. “What a joy it is to see the groups’ different ideas about how they can serve our local community and hear their stories as they return. Students are discovering that they receive so much more than they give and making plans on how they can be agents for change here in Chicago and around the world.”
For many, Christmas is the season for generosity and acts of kindness. Here at HT, it’s more than a season—it’s a way of life.
