Let's Do Something...

Poverty Action Week

St. Matthew Catholic School

Charlotte, North Carolina

April 8-12, 2019

Have you ever longed for more opportunities to remind your students that we are all part of one human family...our collective human family?

This is the third year that St. Matthew Catholic School in Charlotte, North Carolina has set aside Poverty Action Week for that purpose.  We want to remind our students of their greater purpose through Catholic Social teachings.  Our theme this year was One Human Family...

For all of Lent, students and their families collected change in their rice bowls to benefit Catholic Relief Services.

Our fourth and fifth grade students had the privilege of hearing Thomas Awiapo speak at the beginning of Lent.

Each year Poverty Action Week culminates with a school wide food packing event.  This year our students, parents, faculty and staff packed over 50,000 meals for servantswithaheart.org.  

During the week students also had the opportunity to listen to community leaders talk about their experiences serving in the community and beyond.  

For our Mass that week students had the chance to recognize ministry leaders from our parish for their volunteer efforts.

During Poverty Action Week I showed this video on https://www.kulaproject.org/.  My purpose in showing this video was to remind my students of their friends in Rwanda.  They've been bringing in change to support the work of Kula Project all year.  

https://vimeo.com/282311322

After watching the video one of my girls asked me, "Miss Deem, why are they so happy if they are so poor?"

I paused for a moment and then said to her, "I think they're happy because they are grateful for things we take for granted -- like their homes and the opportunity to send their children to school."

Of all the experiences I shared with my class this year during Poverty Action Week, her question has resonated with me the most.  

I would like to spend the remaining six weeks of our school year reminding my students of their blessings and encouraging them to keep sharing those blessings with others in need.

Please let me know how your students are making a difference in their communities and in the world.  Let's start a conversation about service.  Let's do something to make a difference.

As always thank you for reading,

Ellen