SJP donates food, cash to food shelf

by Frank Lee

operations@thenewsleaders.com

Students, faculty and staff from St. John’s Prep School in Collegeville shared the spirit of Thanksgiving by donating food and money Nov. 15 to the St. Joseph Community Food Shelf.

SJP delivered 20 boxes of meals and $1,030 in cash to the food shelf, according to Jill Pauly, director of communications and events at the school.

“Students from grades 6 through 12 collected food and money and even ‘Turkey Stamps’ from Coborn’s to contribute to the St. Joseph Food Shelf to serve local families Thanksgiving meals,” Pauly said.

Included in the tote-sized boxes were, for example, boxes of stuffing, butter, potatoes, a pie, ingredients for a green-bean casserole, salad ingredients, fruit and sweet potatoes.

“Basically it was everything you would need to put together a Thanksgiving meal and then we gave the food shelf the cash to help them buy the turkeys because they can usually get a better rate on buying something like that in bulk,” Pauly said.

She said most of the students, who probably went shopping with their parents, brought the food items to donate from their own homes.

“This will provide for between three-(dozen) and four-dozen family holiday meals in our local community,” Pauly said.

SJP includes about 10 staff members who challenged themselves to do the same thing the students were doing to make Thanksgiving better for less-fortunate families.

“Some of the students asked their parents and grandparents for money to donate or asked for contributions from other folks in their community, like a neighbor or a friend,” Pauly said.

Non-perishable food items can be placed on the food-shelf cart under the balcony in the Church of St. Joseph at 12 W. Minnesota St. SJP sixth-graders sorted and organized the meal boxes that were donated to the food shelf Nov. 15 as part of the hands-on service project.

“This was a way for our students to come together and picture themselves as part of a family that was in need and be able to reach out and make Thanksgiving happy and carefree, perhaps, for families who might not otherwise be able to have a full meal on the special holiday,” Pauly said.

Cash contributions can also be mailed to the parish office. Checks should be payable to “Church of St. Joseph” with “food shelf” on the memo line. All donations are needed and welcomed.

“We had some kids or students bringing in handfuls of change, especially the younger ones, from their own little savings they had at their homes, so they certainly took the initiative to give what they could,” Pauly said of the SJP students who donated to the food shelf.

The Catholic/Benedictine co-educational day-and-boarding college prep school in Collegeville is for students in grades 6-12, with boarding options beginning in the ninth grade.

“At St. John’s Prep, we certainly believe in educating the whole student,” Pauly said. “While we have excellent academics, we also want our students to be aware of their communities and teach them to be lifelong volunteers and contribute to their communities.”

The school’s mission is as follows: “As a Catholic school in the Benedictine tradition, we prepare students for success in higher education and for a lifetime of learning, service and leadership in a global society.”

“Our students are always doing different fundraisers, and they certainly volunteer at local schools and at the YMCA and at the hospital,” Pauly said.

“But this was a way for them to come together and really focus on one project and help one particular organization provide a happy holiday for members of our community, right there in St. (Joseph),” she said.

Clients of the food shelf must live in the St. Joseph area, according to the Church of St. Joseph. To receive assistance, clients must have a picture ID and verification of address. The St. Joseph Community Food Shelf is open from 1-3 p.m. Mondays and Thursdays.

For more information about the St. Joseph Community Food Shelf, contact the parish office at 320-363-7505, ext. 100.