Fifteen of our Seventh and Eighth Class students will fan out across the country this summer to take part in Network of Sacred Heart Schools’ summer service projects.
- Caroline will live for a week on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. She and 23 other Network of Sacred Heart students will serve the Native American Indians from the Lakota Tribe. They will be building decks, skirting trailer homes and doing minor repair work as well as learning about Native American culture and customs.
- “Helping Hungry Hearts” will take Kenneth to Michigan. He will volunteer at Gleaner’s Food Bank in Detroit or Pontiac and Forgotten Harvest in Oak Park. He and other students from Sacred Heart schools will serve dinner at the Capuchin Soup Kitchen and visit Crossroads of Michigan in Detroit to prepare bag lunches for children.
- Organic farming and gardening at the Sacred Heart School in Atherton, Cal., will immerse Mitchell into commercial/community agriculture for one week. During that time participants will tend growing plants and harvest summer vegetables. They will also feed and tend to poultry and goats. Collecting eggs, taking goats out for grazing, milking and performing other farm chores will be part of the daily schedule. Although students will be quite busy tending to the farm , much time will be used in preparing harvested produce for our customers.
- Ten Academy students will spend a week at Sprout Creek Farm in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., participating in “Project Harvest.” Participants will gain a first-hand understanding of issues of food security, sustainable agriculture, and responsible food choices through service at a local soup kitchen and a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) farm. They will prepare and serve food to local community members, and eat lunch with those receiving service. They will work at farm chores relating to food production (cow and goat milking, gardening, harvesting, cooking, food preservation, feeding animals, etc.) to foster an understanding of the hard work required for sustainable agriculture. A “Hunger Banquet” will highlight the global disparity in food distribution, a campfire will focus on traditional harvest celebrations from around the world, and a salsa-making competition using only produce from the garden at Sprout Creek Farm will take place during the students’ stay.
- Participating in the “Human Dignity: Not for Sale” service project at Stone Ridge in Bethesda, Md., Ava will learn about the under-reported reality of domestic violence and develop an awareness of human trafficking, nationally and globally. She will learn about the resources for those who are affected by domestic violence and explore ways to advocate and to respond proactively to situations and define ways to build alliances in the fight against domestic violence and human trafficking She will also develop one simple project that would help educate and raise awareness to the school community about this issue.
- Zoe will be staying at Josephinum Academy in Chicago and participating in “ Food Deserts in the Land of Plenty,” a project addressing food justice in the United States. Zoe will volunteer at three different urban gardens throughout the city, two in neighborhoods that are identified as food deserts because of the lack of healthy, fresh foods for residents. Additionally, she will visit places such as The Plant, Growing Power, and The Dill Pickle Co-Op—innovative solutions in Chicago that are working to provide greater access to local food and resources for residents to be educated. Zoe and other students will be cooking meals and exploring the costs of grocery food items in various stores throughout the city.
Visit sofie.org to learn more about the Network’s summer service projects.
