Students plan almsgiving during Lenten season
Catholic school students from around the Archdiocese are donating their time and resources to local communities and volunteering at The Mercy House.
Groups from three schools have held collection drives and an 8th-grade student from St. Agnes Parish collected dozens of donations as part of his confirmation program.
The Mercy House is a resource and referral center run by the Respect Life Office of the Archdiocese of Newark. The not-for-profit offers resources such as food, clothing, and household accessories, and provides spiritual guidance to individuals and families in need at two locations in Newark and Jersey City. The newly opened Jersey City location of The Mercy House dually functions as a resource center and as a Class C boarding home for 30 women.
Students from Sacred Heart School in Lyndhurst, Saint Cassian School in Montclair, and Mother Seton Regional High School in Clark recently participated in charitable activities such as food drives and hands-on service projects at The Mercy House. Carl H. Kumpf Middle School 8th-grade student Christopher P. started a food drive to help The Mercy House as part of his Confirmation program at St. Agnes Parish, where he and his family are parishioners.
“For my Confirmation project, I had the choice to watch some videos or to do a service project in my community,” Christopher said. “I chose to do a food drive because I wanted to be different and to do something for my community instead of being a bystander.”
Christopher set up food collection bins at the Clark Town Hall and his middle school. He advertised the food drive by partnering with his school’s Student Government Association to distribute flyers and make announcements, and he got the word out about the drive through social media.
“The students cheerfully helped with all the projects, and we accomplished a lot due to their support,” said Annette Miller, Coordinator of Mercy House.
“People were amazingly generous,” his mother, Jennifer Passuth said. “He was stopping by the town hall and collecting two to three bags of food per day.”
Students from Sacred Heart School collected socks and non-perishable foods during a Valentine’s Day supply drive to donate to The Mercy House in Newark.
The St. Cassian School Student Council also recently held a socks and toiletries collection for The Mercy House. According to Principal Maria Llanes, Students at all grade levels collected personal care items and warm socks. The students then filled the socks with toiletries and donated them to Archdiocese of Newark’s Mercy House.
“At the core of the St. Cassian School mission is the role of our school to encourage and assist students in developing as moral and productive young Catholic leaders,” Llanes wrote. “During the school year, we aim to provide opportunities for our students to tangibly connect faith to real-life situations.”
On Friday, Feb. 24, six sophomores from Mother Seton Regional High School and their Religious Studies teacher, Kevin Downey, took part in several service projects at The Mercy House in Newark.
For their first project, they sorted and organized children’s toys and clothing. After that, they organized food donations, placed them in the food storage room for later distribution to Mercy House clients, and organized surplus donations in the back room. A new group of six students from Mother Seton returned on Friday, March 3, to continue service to the community.
“Mercy House has always been dear to us,” said Sister Jacquelyn Balasia, Principal of Mother Seton Regional High School. “We have always been a proponent of service work for our students. We believe that volunteerism is vital to community participation… It is our goal that this natural incorporation of living a life of service becomes the norm and continues long past their graduation from Mother Seton Regional.”
Mother Seton students were invited to volunteer at Mercy House by Brother Christopher D. Hall, CFC, EdD, Assistant Superintendent of High Schools for the Archdiocese of Newark.
“Part of our mission at the Archdiocese of Newark Office of Schools is to encourage students to provide service to the community in the spirit of the Gospels,” Brother Hall said. “Witnessing these students in action as they volunteered their time and efforts to their community by volunteering at Mercy House was my pleasure.”
School groups or individuals interested in supporting or working with The Mercy House should contact the Respect Life Office at 973-497-4350 or email cheryl.riley@rcan.org.
According to Miller, there are plenty of opportunities for students who would like to volunteer with the Respect Life Office. Opportunities include organizing supply drives to help The Mercy House or visiting the two locations in Newark and Jersey City for a few hours to help organize supplies and interact with clients. Miller also said students are welcome to do larger projects such as painting, weeding, and cleaning up around the outside of the building.
The Mercy House is also encouraging students who wish to get involved to take part in the 40 Days for Life initiative, a campaign of prayer and fasting, which takes place now through April 2. The Respect Life Office is also hosting a Rally for Life on June 24 from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. at the State House in Trenton and will be attending the National March for Life in Washington D.C. in January 2024. Students are welcome to participate. More information about upcoming events can be found on the Respect Life Ministry website.
Featured image: Students from Mother Seton Regional High School, pictured with Brother Christopher Hall, Assistant Superintendent of High Schools for the Archdiocese of Newark, volunteered at The Mercy House in Newark on Feb. 24 and March 3. (Mother Seton)
