On Jan. 31, 2024, junior Caroline Crider helps organize clothing items. COURTESY OF JAKE MORRIS
Service day at St. Mary High School: A chance to give back
Editor’s note: The Western Kentucky Catholic recently completed a project with the journalism class at St. Mary High School in Paducah. Journalism teacher Melissa Reed, collaborating with WKC editor Elizabeth Wong Barnstead, assigned articles to five students, who each chose a topic at the school to write about, with the agreement that these articles would be published by the WKC. Please enjoy the articles by these student writers.
BY AVA CAMPBELL, SPECIAL TO THE WESTERN KENTUCKY CATHOLIC
St. Mary High School’s service day is a tradition of St. Mary’s Catholic Schools Week. A day of service at St. Mary is all about giving back to the Paducah area.
All the locations the high school students visit on this day include the following organizations: Family Service Society, Paducah Cooperative Ministry, nursing homes, St. Mary Elementary School, Starfish Ministry, St. Vincent de Paul, and Hope Unlimited. When students attend these locations, they make baskets for the people who need it most. The baskets include necessary items such as, body wash, shampoo, toilet paper, tooth brushes, paper towels, and many other necessities, and organizing canned food. The student body also helps the elderly. St. Mary students enjoy service day and the positivity their presence brings to the community.
Senior Marina Singler states, “I enjoy making an impact in other people’s lives, and it makes me connected with the community.” This day impacts not only the community, it impacts St. Mary.
This day of service shares a strong message about positivity and growth. St. Mary students are thankful that they can be a part of a tradition that is so special and beneficial.
Junior Samantha Potter states, “I love spending time with my fellow classmates doing Christ’s work by helping those in the Paducah area in need.”
Service day at St. Mary is all about giving back to the community. It empowers students to change and to actively engage in such a small community. Service day teaches the students of St. Mary a lesson. It helps them understand that they are lucky to be part of such an amazing school system.
On Jan. 31, 2024, junior Samantha Potter and freshman Ryan Goins distribute canned goods. COURTESY OF AVA CAMPBELL
Ava Campbell is a junior at St. Mary High School in Paducah.
Read the other stories in this series:
Originally printed in the April 2024 issue of The Western Kentucky Catholic.
