#MercyExtended: Catholic Schools Day of Service

During this Year of Mercy, Pope Francis has called the faithful to live out the spiritual and corporal works of mercy, “opening our hearts to those living on the outermost fringes of society.”

During National Catholic Schools Week 2016, the 22 Catholic schools in the Diocese of Syracuse did just that.

Each school community came together to complete a service project to benefit a partner organization. From making sandwiches to creating care packages to stocking pantry shelves, students served organizations including Catholic Charities, an orphanage in Haiti, and the Oneida Healthcare Lullaby Center — plus the many others you’ll see on these pages.

Students from All Saints Catholic School in Endicott held Souper Sports Day Thursday and collected food for Mother Theresa’s Cupboard. From left to right: Vinvent Standish, Sophie Cooper, Noah Pangilinan, Cash Vaughan, Mack Patterson, Sister Agnes Shaw, Connor Jones, Patricia Brocious and Emilie Berger.

The students of Blessed Sacrament School in Syracuse collected 1,122 cans of soup for the parish pantry during their “Souper Bowl.” The fifth graders collected the most cans — 321 in total!

The students at Cathedral Academy at Pompei in Syracuse designed placemats and delivered them to the Samaritan Center.

Students at Holy Cross School in DeWitt helped to make more than 240 sandwiches for the Samaritan Center in Syracuse, an interfaith organization that feeds those in need. Here, third grader Layla McIntyre and her mother Jennifer McIntyre make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. 

The seventh and eighth grade students from Holy Family School in Norwich delivered donations to the soup kitchen held at St. Bartholomew’s Church and helped to serve a meal there.

Students of Holy Family School and Bishop Ludden Jr./Sr. High School in Syracuse joined together to make bag lunches for those served at Catholic Charities Men’s Shelter. The students made sandwiches and put them into decorated lunch bags along with a piece of fresh fruit, a napkin, a bag of chips and some cookies.

Students at Immaculate Conception School in Fayetteville collected toiletries and paper products to be donated to immigrant and refugee families who work on the Salt City Harvest Farm. More than 20 baskets of goods were accepted by farm founder Dylan Letcher, an IC grad, and Rozlynn Jakes-Johnson, along with blankets made by the sixth grade class. Read more and see more photos at thecatholicsun.com.

Students at Rome Catholic School in Rome decorated cards and put together care packages of personal care items to be given to those in need through the “In Mission of the Christ Child” program at St. Mary’s/St. Peter’s Parish.

The students at Most Holy Rosary School in Syracuse collected hospitality items for those staying at Sarah’s Guest House. The house, a neighbor of the school, provides lodging, transportation, meals and comfort to patients receiving medical care in Central New York and their families.

Students from St. James School in Johnson City collected supplies and toys for distribution in Haiti, where Seton Catholic Central students are currently traveling on mission. This is the second trip in this school year that Seton students have made to Haiti.The students will serve in two orphanages supported by the Missionaries of the Heart of Jesus, Mother Teresa’s Children’s Hospital and a medical clinic in Cite Soleil.

The students at St. John’s School in Binghamton collected personal care items for veterans in need and helped to package them into “Bundles of Love.”

Students from St. Margaret’s School in Mattydale and Bishop Grimes Jr./Sr. High School in East Syracuse went the extra mile together Feb. 2, 2016, helping to stock the pantry at St. Margaret’s Church with hygiene products, paper goods and toiletries. Here, Sara Hopkins, a Bishop Grimes junior, brings donations into St. Margaret’s. (Sun photo | Dave Mason)

At St. Mary’s Academy in Baldwinsville, students worked together to assemble baskets of donations for Joseph’s House for Women, a home for mothers in need and their children.

The students at St. Mary’s School in Cortland partnered with Seven Valleys Health Coalition and numerous community organizations to create backpacks filled with clothes, books, personal care items and more. According Seven Valleys Health Coalition materials, the backpacks are given to children transitioning from their homes to the foster care system, to children whose homes were lost to fire, and Cortland YWCA Bridges for Kids mentees.

St. Patrick’s students Christabella Gilbank and Natalie Vanderwerken pick out a hat to be placed into a “Welcome to the World” bags as they and classmates make fifty bags to be given to the Lullaby Center at Oneida Health Care on Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2016 in Oneida N.Y. (Photo Special to The Catholic Sun by John Haeger)

Students at St. Rose of Lima School in North Syracuse made “blizzard bags,” emergency food packages, for Meals on Wheels.

Trinity Catholic School in Oswego collected personal hygiene items for distribution through the Human Concerns Center.