Our Campus Ministry team here at Central Catholic has been exceptionally busy over the past two months! For the first time, Central Catholic High School joined other Catholic faithful by taking part in the Our Lady of Guadalupe Pilgrimage held every year during the feast day on December 12th. This first group of pilgrims included MSG Alexander Chavez (JROTC), Senora Fabiola Mendez (Spanish), Fr. Patrick McDaid, eleven amazing students, and an excellent group of parents who were ecstatic about this 17-mile pilgrimage. Perhaps the greatest part of this journey was offering the opportunity for the students’ reflection, further spiritual growth, and continued devotion to the Catholic faith in this unique environment.
In the meantime, our CCHS Guardian Angels remained one of the busiest groups on campus with a service project or drive going on every week. This included spending a morning at one of the local VFWs where they distributed food to hundreds of needy families.
Then, our Guardian Angels organized a cleaning supply/medical supply drive for Project MEND. Project MEND is a nonprofit that assists elderly and disabled vets with necessary medical equipment.
While that was going on, the Guardian Angels also put together a successful toy and coat drive. Nearly 1000 new toys were collected. Many of them were given to children dealing with pediatric cancer.
Then, the Guardian Angels partnered with the Animal Defense League and had one of the most successful ADL drives in history! They ended up collecting nearly 4,000 donations (which included dog food and chew toys). And, in return, the guys got to visit (and play with) some of the stray dogs who were up for adoption!
Next up, the Guardian Angels partnered with LovePurse to collect toiletries for victims of domestic violence. This was another extremely rewarding drive. At the same time, it was eye-opening. For many of our guys, it really opened their eyes to some of the negative, yet real, aspects of our world.
Another project that was eye-opening was when the Guardian Angels volunteered to help at the annual No Strings Gala. This gala was a fundraiser aimed at supporting victims of human trafficking. This was deep! Many of our guys did not know that things like this even existed in our world. For them to help assist at this event was life-changing!
Right before Valentine’s, a group of Guardian Angels got together to make Valentine’s cards for senior citizens. As you can see, the variety of service opportunities this group participates in is quite diverse.
The Guardian Angels also partnered with Catholic Charities to spend a Saturday organizing their warehouse. It was hard work, but someone had to do it!
Finally, this past week, the Guardian Angels coordinated one of the best blood drives we’ve ever had. We had nearly 50 donors! That might not sound like a lot at first but considering that we are a relatively small school and that many of our students are not allowed to donate due to sports commitments, this is an outstanding number!
CCHS Guardian Angels at the VFW
Teaming Up with Project Mend
Christmas Donations
ADL Drive
For more information about #LovePurse, please visit www.lovepurse.org
No Strings Gala
Valentines for Seniors
Catholic Charities
Blood Donations
On top of all that, to “kick off” the season of Lent, the Guardian Angels and Button LIFERS partnered up with more than 500 other students from across the archdiocese to work in the community garden at Catholic Charities.
Archbishop Gustavo with CCHS Students (Left) Button LIFE moderator (and math teacher), Ms. Dorothy Hanson, celebrating the event! (Right)
Working in the Garden
The entire group - after a hard afternoon of planting trees!
In addition, our Ecology Club has been busy too!
These guys recently participated in a project where they helped clean up Kardon Park on San Antonio’s northeast side. As you can see, there’s never a dull moment here at Central Catholic – especially when it pertains to our Campus Ministry team!
