Written by Jacque Hince, marketing and admissions director, Annunciation Catholic School, Columbus, MS, marketing@annunciationcatholicschool.org
When the Need Appeared
Annunciation Catholic School (ACS) kindergarten teacher Heather Ford leaned out the window at the local soup kitchen and placed a Styrofoam container in the hands of a hungry family. The container, filled with hot spaghetti, had a picture colored by an ACS student haphazardly taped on top by a five-year-old’s sweet chubby hand. “Here you go, Baby,” Heather said in her Mississippi accent, “God bless you.”
It was only a few days before that Ford sent out a message asking ACS staff and faculty to help. Due to the lingering government shutdown, and subsequent unease about the cutback in SNAP benefits local families received, the Columbus, MS, soup kitchen decided to open up extra hours and serve a hot meal every night the week of November 3. They only had a few days to find volunteers to bring enough food.
Immediately, ACS teachers stepped up. “Social justice is always at the forefront of my mind,” explains Ford, “Especially in times like this when things are so uncertain for so many different people on so many different levels. I know people that are personally affected by the shutdown. I realized somebody has to stand in that gap. If we don’t do it, who will?”
Under Ford’s direction, teachers donated money to pay for spaghetti, salad, and rolls. Enough to feed nearly two hundred people. Students then colored hundreds of pictures depicting Numbers 6:24-26, “The Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.”
Tuesday evening, right after school let out, seventeen teachers, some carting their children, came to serve.
Brothers Christopher and Thomas Hince were two of ACS students present. “My mom told me I had to serve even though I wanted to get home and get ahead on homework,” admitted seventh grader Thomas. “But then when I got there and I started serving, it was a great experience. It’s always, like I know there are people in need in the community, but it never really hits me that these are actually real lives we’re talking about until I see the people. Serving really made me feel the best I’ve felt in a couple weeks.” Fourth grader Christopher adds, “I felt good helping those who do not have as much as me.”
Pre-K teacher Taylor Cabiness also came to help. “It definitely puts things in perspective. We get to teach our students about serving and loving others like Jesus loves us, so to put that in practice was really nice.“
Learning Service by Living It
Teaching ‘service’ is a large part of ACS. Students are encouraged to look for ways and opportunities to serve their families, classrooms, and communities. A favorite tradition at the school is their monthly Jeans for Green. Each month a class picks a different charity to support. Students play a large part in helping pick who or what they would like to raise money for. Then they broadcast to the rest of the school they can pay $1 to wear jeans or $5 to wear athletic pants. Past examples are the soup kitchen Loaves and Fishes, Operation Christmas, and most recently Breast Cancer research in honor of a parent in the school community fighting breast cancer. Also, each year during Catholic Schools Week, ACS picks a service project the whole school supports.
“You can’t talk about serving and then, when the need arises, not serve yourself,” reasons Ford. “Serving gives you a whole new perspective on what the needs are just literally a half mile down the road.”
Living the Mission of Service
Those present say that naturally they were the ones who left Loaves and Fishes that night feeling blessed. “I felt good afterwards, I was tired, but I think it was a blessing to myself,” says ACS third gradeteacher Danielle Berghuis. Music and theatre arts teacher Celsie Staggers adds, “We are supposed to be living a life that represents Jesus, we are called to be disciples. The main thing we have to do is demonstrate that for our kids. Whether there is glory or recognition in it, we need to be doing the right thing, even when nobody is looking. I felt convicted to show up and be Christ’s hands and feet.”
In the end that evening, all the food was handed out. Sadly, Loaves and Fishes even had to shut the window a little early, and give the last few arrivals bologna sandwiches. Ford teared up as she prayed over the group gathered, “If we can serve, after a long day, then where is everyone else…”
But that is why we do what we do here at Annunciation Catholic School. That is why we teach ‘service’ to the next generation. So when the need arises again, they too, just like our teachers, will raise their hand and say, “We can do that. We can serve.”
