In celebration of Catholic Schools Week, we are taking a look back at the numerous organizations in our community that our students and faculty engaged with during this past Advent season. The spirit of service continues to thrive at Our Lady of Lourdes High School!
According to Lourdes Principal, Meghan Vilardo, “We work very hard to incorporate charity throughout our building all year long. We instill these values every day not only in classrooms but also during club and after-school activities, and on the athletic fields. It is also important that our students become familiar with the needs of people right outside our doors in the local community and we have so many organizations that are in need of everyone’s help. We are exceptionally proud of the projects we were able to accomplish so far this year!”
The spirit of service continues to thrive at Our Lady of Lourdes High School!
Mission: “Hudson River Housing provides a continuum of services that improves lives and communities through housing with compassion and development with vision. We create pathways out of homelessness through empowerment, education, and advocacy. We strengthen communities by developing and preserving affordable housing and creating opportunities for people and places to thrive.”
Fostering Hope Together Foundation
Mission: “Fostering Hope Together is a non-profit organization dedicated to cultivating and preserving family values by delivering love, hope, and resources to families in foster care (birth, relatives & foster) in their time of need.”
The Our Lady of Lourdes wrestling team, made up of twenty-one boys and one young lady, worked together to deliver gifts and holiday cheer to a local family. The team worked with a local organization, Fostering Hope Together Foundation, which helps local foster families in need. Steve Price, the wrestling coach, along with his wife are foster parents for this foundation and offer their home as an emergency placement site for families under the direction of Dutchess County Social Services. Through this connection, the team was able to adopt a family in need and jumped at the opportunity to deliver all the gifts on the family’s wish list along with grocery store gift cards to provide the goodies for a holiday feast.
In addition, the team helped wrap presents for over 70 local families at the Fishkill Baptist Church which were then handed out at the annual Santa Breakfast on Saturday, Dec.18th. During the morning, local foster families came together for breakfast, met Santa, and received their bags of gifts. “I am so proud of the work my team put into this project. They represented Lourdes with honor and integrity,” said Coach Price, “Thanks to all the hard work by these young athletes, the Santa breakfast was a huge success, and put smiles on many faces of young children who are much less fortunate. The wrestlers are grateful they could help make this season a little brighter for their adopted family and look forward to making this an annual tradition.”
Mission: “Hudson River Housing believes that those who served our country deserve the highest level of care, including quality, affordable housing. We are here to meet the needs of our veteran community through specialized housing, transportation, advocacy and care management. Through our VetZero Services for Veterans, we’re on a mission to reach ZERO veteran suicides and ZERO veteran homelessness in our community – and hopefully, in our nation.”
Inspired by Veteran’s Day on November 11th, the girls Field Hockey team decided to launch a Poinsettia sale on that date to raise funds that would allow them to create “personal care packages” for local veterans. The sale was a tremendous success and surpassed their fundraising goal raising over $500.
Coach Nikki D’Aleo commented, “As a team, we are truly grateful to all that supported this fundraiser. Thank you! We are also honored to be able to support our local veterans, especially during the holidays.”
Mission: “The Sisters of Life are women who are in love with Love – Love incarnate, crucified, and Risen – and captivated by the truth of the beauty of every human person, created in God’s image and likeness. We believe every person is valuable and sacred. We believe that every person is good, loved, unique and unrepeatable. We believe that every person’s life has deep meaning, purpose and worth. In fact, we give our lives for that truth.”
The Pro-Life Club met its Advent Service Project goal of completely packing an SUV with baby supplies for expectant mothers in need. On Saturday, December 11th, the supplies were donated to the Sisters of Life’s NY distribution center. Spearheaded by the Pro-Life Club’s co-presidents, Isabella Cho and Gabriella DeGuzman, the Pro-Life Club donated over 1500 diapers, 60 packages of baby wipes, 50 baby outfits, 27 packages of formula, 24 packages of pacifiers, 22 packages of baby bottles, and many other items to the Sisters of Life. In addition, Pro-Life Club students prepared 24 separate gift bags for expectant mothers, each containing a handwritten note and various gifts.
Mission: “To enable individuals and their families to live free from domestic violence by: Providing shelter, advocacy, counseling, and education.
Raising the consciousness of the community regarding the extent, type and seriousness of domestic violence Initiating and taking positions on public policies in order to provide options which empower victims of domestic violence.”
The Our Lady of Lourdes Math Department sponsored their annual pajama collection to benefit these local organizations. They surpassed their goal of collecting 600 pairs of pajamas of varying sizes, from babies to teens and parents with a total collection of 985 pairs of pajamas.
