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Western Springs parish school collects jeans
Updated: March 22, 2013 6:10AM
WESTERN SPRINGS — Students at St. John of the Cross Parish School collected jeans for the homeless as an activity during Catholic Schools Week.
Students asked school families to clean out their closets and donate their gently used jeans. Each year, Aeropostale holds a drive to collect jeans for homeless teens. According to Aeropostale, there are 1.7 million homeless teens and the number one item shelters request are jeans. St. John’s student heard that need and among the 360 school families, they collected more than 750 pairs of jeans.
During this week, students also took time during their religion classes to focus on our nation. They combined community and our nation by making over 600 St. Valentine’s Day cards to share with the veterans at Hines Hospital. These cards brought joy to many patients at the hospital as they were thrilled with this simple donation.
Not only did the kids reach out to the community during the week, but, frequently the students provide service to others. Twice a month, the kids make meals for Port Ministries in Chicago, they collect canned foods for the Food Pantry, collect baby items for Care Net, and can tabs for the Ronald McDonald Family Room.
On occasion, the students will pay a dollar for an out of uniform day and all proceeds will benefit different charitable organizations. The spirit of giving is contagious at St. John of the Cross Parish School.
