Marian Catholic High School students joined The Emmaus Community in Olympia Fields last week for a community service project that provided all the fixings for a delicious Thanksgiving meal for 250 families in need in our local community.
More than 60 volunteers gathered at The Emmaus Community on Thursday, Friday and Saturday to set up, assemble and distribute food boxes containing turkeys, vegetables, potatoes, rolls and desserts that will enable many families to cook a full meal this Thanksgiving Thursday.
“As Christians, we are called to serve others in need but doing this also benefits us,” said Curtis Johnson, Marian Catholic Director of Choirs and campus minister. “In addition to following Jesus’s command to help the least of our brothers, doing good for others also makes us feel good.”
Thanks to the generosity of its congregation, The Emmaus Community was able to buy 350 turkeys and many of the food items being given to families. While 250 meals with turkeys were distributed locally, another 100 turkeys were given to a partner church on Chicago’s north side, River City Community Church.
“Volunteering for this program makes me realize that not everyone has food on the table every Thanksgiving,” said Kylie Kimbrough, a Marian Catholic 11th grader from Olympia Fields. “I’m blessed to have these things and want to help other people in my community who don’t have them.”
As a school founded by the Dominican Sisters of Springfield, Marian Catholic has a strong commitment to helping people in need.
“As our Springfield Dominican sisters continue to model what it means to give service to their community in their 150th anniversary year, we do the same many miles away in a spirit of solidarity with them,” said Linda Hansen, Marian Catholic’s Vice President of Ministry and Mission.
Marian Catholic High School kicks off its annual Christmas Drive on Monday, Nov. 28. Through the Marian Catholic Christmas Drive, now in its 50th year, students, families and staff provide Christmas gifts and food for Christmas dinner to more than 35 families in our community.