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Committed to our mission of sharing Christ’s love with the world, all of our students participate in a variety of community service projects, giving them an opportunity to serve those in need. While projects vary annually based on student interests and current events, several annual service opportunities are important to the culture of giving at St. Ray’s.
By looking outside themselves and providing opportunities to be Christ’s hands and feet to our neighbors, our students quickly realize they have the ability to make a positive difference in the world.
Shepherd’s Table serves lunch to those who are hungry or poor in downtown Joliet. Shepherd’s Table is also used as a warming and cooling center during extreme weather.
During the spring semester of 7th grade year and the fall semester of 8th grade year, a group of St. Ray’s students working alongside St. Raymond parishioners serve meals to just over a hundred guests on the fourth Monday of each month.
Each year the parish and school families of St. Raymond collect non-perishable food items for the Peter Claver Center in downtown Joliet. As a multi-service organization, the Peter Claver Center gives opportunities to its clients to develop their abilities, further their education and improve their knowledge, obtain employment, and become independent, contributing citizens of our community.
St. Raymond Parish hosts a priest from Malawi as they earn a Master’s degree from Lewis University. This partnership spurred the students to be a part of something bigger than themselves. Fr. Elizeo, who was with us from 2015-2017, is back in Malawi building a school for his village. Each year the children of St. Raymond School participate in a rice and water lunch. For $3, students give up their regular lunch to eat a simple bowl of rice. This act of solidarity allows our children to appreciate the bounty of food we have here in America and supports the building of a school in Malawi–something we often take for granted.
At the end of each school year, as we clean out our lockers and desks, there are a lot of school supplies that are not fully used! Instead of throwing them in the trash, the students donate them to a school in Honduras. The first graders take on the responsibility of making signs, creating boxes to collect the items and organizing the supplies.
In the summer of 2019, St. Raymond Parish began a community garden with the focus of donating the grown vegetables to local soup kitchens and food pantries of Joliet. Our junior high science teacher, Amy Schwert, thought creatively of ways our school children could be involved in this project. After sharing a presentation with each class on what composting is and the benefits it has for our environment, students compost their fruits and vegetables at lunch every day!
608 North Raynor Ave.
Joliet, IL 60435
Email: info@csrn.org
School: 815-722-6626
Fax: 815-727-4668
© 2024 Cathedral of Saint Raymond School