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News Briefs for the Week of Dec 17 2021

Posted on December 19, 2021December 19, 2021 by Bob Reddy

School Pro-Life club prays in front of abortion facility

On the Solemnity of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, Dec. 8, 2021, the Pro-Life Club of the Donahue Catholic Academy of Ave Maria Parish, prayed in front of the Planned Parenthood abortion facility in Fort Myers. The students visit the site regularly and the Solemnity was a ideal time to come forward to be seen standing up for life as the voice of the voiceless – the unborn.

Naples high school hosts retreat

St. John Neumann Catholic High School hosted a DEC – Day Everyone Connects Retreat in Naples the weekend of Dec. 4-5, 2021. They welcomed Cristo Rey Catholic High School of Tampa and Immaculata LaSalle Catholic High School from Miami. Each school is led by Salesian Sister of St. John Bosco. The theme of this retreat was Renewal and New Life, and what better way to celebrate that than with birthday cake! Students took part in Mass, prayed together, and participated in a variety of spiritual exercises as well as team building activities while having lots of fun. It was also the first chance that many students were able to try the newly built and installed low ropes course that Neumann student Hunter Lund built on campus as his Eagle Scout project!

Mooney students spread Christmas spirit with hundreds of toys

The Cardinal Mooney chapter of the St. Vincent de Paul Society collected new toys to support Andrew’s Toybox in partnership with the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office. The donated toys by Cardinal Mooney students will benefit the 12th Judicial Circuit of Florida Guardian ad Litem Program. Donations were picked up by the Sheriff’s Department, Dec. 13, 2021. That’s not all, the Sunshine Meadows Nursing Home in Sarasota will be receiving Christmas gifts that are purchased by the Cardinal Mooney staff and families. The 38 residents will be receiving the needed items on their Christmas list. Mooney students also volunteered to assist the Longboat Key Kiwanis fundraiser for the Children’s Charity Scholarship Luncheon on Dec. 4 by assisting guests and serving food to attendees. The Cardinal Mooney band performed for shoppers at the University Town Center on Dec. 6 to showcase members of the band and experience the sounds of the season.

Police escort students – students enjoy lights and sirens

St. Francis Xavier Catholic School reached out to the Fort Myers Police Department Dec. 9, 2021, for a simple request to help their students cross a busy intersection so they could attend an event. Of course, FMPD had to make sure they crossed in style with lights and sirens. The kids were ecstatic to have the officers there escorting them and they officers enjoyed it just as much.

Older students teach about saints to schoolmates

The eighth graders at Epiphany Cathedral Catholic School in Venice took time out of their busy schedule to teach what they know about the saints to students in other classrooms. On Dec. 7, 2021, the students visited the fifth graders, asking questions such as “What do you know about saints?” or “What qualities do saints possess?” This opened up a lively discussion where it was learned that many saints are known for doing the small things in service to Christ well, something they should learn to emulate in their own lives.

Students organize food and toy drives

The St. Ann Catholic School Student Council sponsored a food drive for St. Matthews House in Naples to help fight hunger and poverty in Southwest Florida collecting all of their items on Dec. 7, 2021. At the same time, the S.O.S. Colombia Christmas Campaign gathered boxes of clothes and toys for Christmas, while collecting money for needy children in Bogota, Colombia.

Giving back for Thanksgiving

Posted on November 23, 2021November 23, 2021 by Bob Reddy

Catholic schools and Parish youth groups across the Diocese of Venice learned a valuable lesson ahead of Thanksgiving: to be thankful for what they have and how wonderful it feels to give to others.

Thousands of cans of food and other non-perishable items were collected and then delivered to various Catholic Charities, Diocese of Venice, Inc. food banks or those of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul.

For example, at St. Francis Xavier Catholic School in Fort Myers the students took part in the school’s annual “Share Your Blessings” canned food drive. The drive was led by the National Junior Honor Society in partnership with the Knights of Columbus and collected more than 3,500 items for the nearby St. Vincent de Paul Society which helps feed those in need. Top collecting classes earned a prize of holiday cookies.

This important lesson of giving back resonates with students of all ages and is a strong representation of the Catholic Social Teaching regarding charity, where one doesn’t just give but gives from the heart to everyone in need regardless of their race or religion because “Christ is all and in all.”

Although many world religions uphold charitable work, it is specially emphasized in the Christian Faith and is a central message found in the Gospels. For example, in Colossians 3:11 we are instructed to love our neighbors because they are the children of God as we are all part of the same human family and share the same nature, needs and dignity.

This is why the smiles on the student faces last a little bit longer as they learn to appreciate that their combined hard work translates into food on the table for many families in the community who are less fortunate.

When organizing food drives, many Catholic schools often have friendly competitions amongst the different classrooms and grade levels.

This went to an extreme level at Donahue Academy of Ave Maria Catholic School in Ave Maria, where the whole school took part in a massive, canned food drive competition to help the Guadalupe Social Services of Catholic Charities in Immokalee.

How massive? One local store had to stay open two extra hours as the students were buying so many cans. Then, when the stores ran out of cans, the students collected rice, pasta and more. This created a temporary counting problem as the faculty tried to figure out the equivalent value of a canned item versus a bag of rice or box of pasta.

The result was a massive 6,000 items of food. So much that it took more than one trip to deliver everything to the grateful staff of Catholic Charities.

The competition was also fierce at Bishop Verot Catholic High School in Fort Myers where students put their donated food items into large cans labeled with the name of favored teachers or faculty members. The name which had the most food was obligated to wear a turkey outfit after school on Nov. 19, 2021 – the start of the Thanksgiving break – and wave to all of the families and students. The “winner” was Matt Hiller, Assistant Dean of Students who gladly wore the outfit and held a sign as he waved and gobbled – “Save a TURKEY – Eat PIZZA!”

At St. John Neumann Catholic High School in Naples the students, faculty, and staff delivered a total of 6,474 items to Catholic Charities. In addition to the school-wide food drive, the Celtic baseball team decided to go above and beyond and host an additional food drive, donating more than 200 items to another area charity.

Nearby, St. Elizabeth Seton Catholic School students collected over 1,000 pounds of food and over $250 from a dress down (non-uniform) day collection.

Not to be forgotten, the St. Columbkille Parish Youth Group & Faith Formation families came together to donate and assemble many large baskets of food. This was in addition to turkeys donated by the Knights of Columbus.

These were just a few examples of the generosity and charity from the students and youth of the Diocese of Venice leading up to Thanksgiving. The lessons of charity were well learned and countless families were the beneficiaries of their generosity.

Students implement service project with local hospital

Posted on November 4, 2021November 4, 2021 by Bob Reddy

St. Francis Xavier Catholic School in Fort Myers is implementing a Good Samaritan partnership with Golisano Children’s Hospital of Southwest Florida.

“Our fifth-grade teaching team, Natalie Kuznicki and Melissa Lanzilotta originally wanted this to be a year-long service project for their students,” said Esther Kiesel, Director of Development at St. Francis Xavier Catholic School. “During their planning sessions, word got out and the entire school embraced ‘Breath of Life – Help Our Heroes,’ which became a schoolwide service project, that runs this calendar year.”

As a result, each grade will share their time, talent and treasure to bring joy, comfort and support to the frontline staff at Golisano Children’s Hospital NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) Respiratory Team.

The initial project – “Friendship” – was presented by the fifth grade students and delivered in September. The students created an in-house thank you video, and gave up recess time to make friendship bracelets, greeting cards as well as candy jars of joy!

In October, the sixth-grade students practiced their letter writing skills to create formal letters of gratitude. In these letters the students recognized the compassion, care and dedication of the NICU Respiratory Team, that helps save the lives of children in their community. The students and school provided these dedicated caregivers with cookies, sweets, snacks and coffee they could enjoy when taking a brief respite during their shift at work.

During the coming months, each grade is excitedly working on their service project, recognition theme and thoughtful treat.

As we approach the holiday season of Thanksgiving and Christmas, we are reminded to embrace our call to serve others,” said John Gulley, St. Francis Xavier Principal. “What a blessing to put into practice our school mission, ‘To Be Like Christ’ in all that we think, do and say, while experiencing the joy of learning.”

Sarasota Parish has Teen “Service Week”

Posted on August 19, 2021August 19, 2021 by Bob Reddy

Service, prayer, music, fun and food.

Combine those things and you have a formula for a successful “Teen Service Week” for youth who are preparing to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation at St. Thomas More Parish in Sarasota.

Robbie Anderson, the Director of Religious Education and Youth Outreach at St Thomas More, brought the idea of a faith-based service week from her previous position in the Chicago area. The group began their week with their regular Sunday night meeting on Aug. 1, 2021 with prayer, music and food.

On each morning of the week of Aug. 2-6, the teens met with assigned leaders at the parish and prayed together. From there, they were sent to different locations to serve the community. Their week started with a Sarasota food pantry, then met with teens from St. Michael Parish in Wauchula. In the middle of the week, they assisted at a local soup kitchen and organized the Parishes’ own food pantry.

The longest journey was on Thursday, when they trekked to Immokalee and visited Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish and the Catholic Charities offices there, which include a soup kitchen, food pantry and much more. The group also helped in a local environmental cleanup and learned about the difficult working conditions for farmworkers and were educated on unfair wages. The week concluded with the group helping parishioners with small projects around their home.

Anderson said each day began by 7 a.m. and concluded by 9 p.m. At the conclusion of each day, the teens finished with a sponsored meal, played outdoor games and prayed together. As part of the week the youth wrote prayers based on their daily experiences. Examples include the following:

“I pray for immigrants who are struggling for an income standard because of their circumstances.”
“Please put food on the tables of those in food insecurity.”
“God bless those who love and support their communities through organized and consistent efforts.”
“That we continue to make a difference in future days and weeks.”
“That our work today will make us more compassionate to those who don’t have enough.”
“That this week was life changing for all the teens and adults and that what we experienced will motivate us to continue to serve others.”
“For a resolution to equality, justice and hunger issues.”
“For the homeless people we served today, that they stay safe.”

It was clear to Anderson that the week made a real impact on the youth in various ways.

“At our reflection at the end of the week many said they were made much more aware of the poverty right here in Sarasota that they never imagined existed,” she said. “They were also saying they need to raise awareness of the unfair wages that the farm workers receive.”

Neumann football team bonds through service

Posted on August 9, 2019 by Bob Reddy

Staff Report

Team bonding at St. John Neumann Catholic High School in Naples occurs both on and off the field. Through service to their community, student athletes at Neumann grow both individually and as a team.

This summer, the Celtic football team in particular focused not only on preparing for their upcoming season but on giving back to their community. Several members of the team joined their classmates in June for a week-long service trip to Immokalee. While there, the Celtics delivered food, sorted goods at the Salvation Army, painted houses, and tutored children. Later, the 2018 Regional Finalists took a break from summer workouts to join Habitat for Humanity at a worksite in Naples.

In July, the players held a two-day project with Friends of Foster Children Forever on campus to pack 500 backpacks with donated school supplies and uniforms for local foster children. Over the course of the three months of summer vacation, the Celtic Football Team together completed more than 500 hours of community service.