All 503 students at Queen of Angels Catholic School in Roswell got together to pack lunches for the school’s third annual feed the homeless event. The school packed lunches and brought them to The Shrine of the Immaculate Conception to be distributed through its shelter program. The day of service was a part of Catholic Schools Week.
“Service is one of the key components of Catholic Schools Week,” said Principal Molly Carlin. “Each grade performs an age appropriate community service project at some point during the school year. We wanted the students to see that when all 503 students work together that everyone from kindergarten through eighth grade can make an impact and help a charity in a big way.”
The youngest students decorated lunch bags and those from grades 3-5 filled each bag with a pre-packaged snack. The middle school students made the sandwiches and loaded the bags in containers for delivery to the shrine.
Additionally, this year the school added a “Bring a Lunch” component and asked parents in the school community to send in any number of meat and cheese sandwiches that the Central Night Shelter could store for future use. The parent community of 324 families responded by donating 976 individual sandwiches.
The meals will support the Central Night Shelter, a network of organizations and churches that support Atlanta’s homeless population. The shrine hosts guests by providing sack lunches, dinner and overnight assistance.
Just like the students, the community can also support the shelter by preparing a dinner and serving guests; providing sack lunches; or spending the night with the guests.
Each year, the students have increased the number of meals delivered to the shelter and have developed a passion for giving back.
“This experience shows that it doesn’t really matter how old you are, you can still make a big difference and help someone that really needs it,” said seventh-grader Coen Dolezar.
In other news: Kids 'R' Kids Learning Academies announced Friends of Disabled Adults and Children as its 2017 Charity of Choice. It awarded the non-profit organization a $50,000 grant in support of its mission to help those with injuries and disabilities of all ages regain their mobility, independence and quality of life. FODAC plans to dedicate the funds to its pediatric equipment program.
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