Serviam

Serviam Saturdays

Saturday socially distanced food drives at Ursuline began in spring 2020 as the pandemic crippled our country’s food systems and many people faced food insecurity. The food drives continued through June 2021. Rain or shine, twice a month during the school year, students and faculty volunteered to accept and organize the donated food and other items. Often alumnae took part. Collected food and items were regularly donated to Serviam Gardens in the Bronx, a senior low income housing site, or to HOPE Community Services in New Rochelle. We also held food drives to benefit senior citizens through The Fuller Center for Housing of Greater New York City, to benefit the Bronx Green Machine, and to help restock local food pantries in Yonkers and Mount Vernon. The need is great. Thank you very much to all who donate.

Operation Christmas Child

By Maeve Ryan ‘24

I have been involved in Operation Christmas Child since I was in kindergarten. I am so grateful to have begun a new Operation Christmas Child chapter at The Ursuline School this past December 2020, starting with the 6th grade. This beautiful project is sponsored by Samaritan’s Purse. We reach out to children throughout the world with a simple shoebox filled with daily hygiene items, school supplies, and simple toys, as a tangible way of bringing Jesus Christ to God’s children everywhere. We seal every box with a prayer for the children receiving our boxes.

I worked with the 6th graders to pack their first shoeboxes (“Go-Boxes” which stands for “Gospel Opportunities”). Each student went home with a packet that explained the project. Each student placed a special label on their shoebox that they could track online to see where their box found a home. Shoeboxes have traveled all over the world, by boats, planes, elephants, camels, donkeys . . . in any way they can reach God’s children.

In 2019, I was blessed to finally work at an Operation Christmas Child Processing Center in Baltimore, over Thanksgiving weekend. My parents and I helped to process thousands of shoeboxes, getting them ready to ship out all over the world! It was an amazing experience! I can’t wait to do it again next year (we could not travel this year due to COVID-19 quarantine restrictions).