Third Annual All School Service Day was a success!
One who serves is not a slave to his own agenda, but ever ready to deal with the unexpected, ever available to his brothers and sisters and ever open to God’s constant surprises.
Pope Francis
On Thursday, May 26th, Academy of Holy Angels celebrated its 3rd Annual All School Service Day. Students, staff and community members served more than 2,000 hours in one day.
The day filled with service started off with a very special mass in the gym. Newly-installed Archbishop Bernard Hebda came to the school to celebrate the mass. Bishop Hebda told our students, “Mercy is putting our love into concrete action. What you are doing today is proof of mercy in our world.” After mass, the bishop stayed and shook hands with the kids as they left to serve the community.
Our students went to 28 different locations all around the metro to serve. The locations varied from Feed My Starving Children, to ARC Value Village, to cleaning up the Mississippi River. From Richfield neighborhoods to The Pines Senior Living Facility to sing to the elderly, our students were all over the place in their blue t-shirts giving back.
After their service, AHA students, staff and community members came back to the school, and had a closing program emceed by KARE 11 Morning Anchor Cory Hepola. He talked to the kids about doing small acts of service every day in their lives after Holy Angels. He also called the names of the 110 students who earned a Blue or Gold Service Award, which is given to kids who have gone above and beyond their service requirement.
For many of our students, the highlight of the program was the speech delivered by their classmate Helen Larson '16. Helen spent her last summer working in an orphanage in China. The experience changed her life, and she shared what she learned.
“The real reason why I stand here today is that I have learned to accept and embrace how obstacles in my life have made me different, just like those kids at Shepherd’s Field, who embrace their differences through laughs and smiles. Don’t hide your uniqueness just to fit in, let it be the thing you can offer to the world. Because with suffering, you can gain strength, and with strength comes great compassion.”