Everyone CAN be a hero… by fighting hunger!

May 3, 2019 0 Comments

From the grocery store shelf to Dominican’s donation pile, tens of thousands of cans made their journey from the hands of DHS students to the home of the hungry. 

We Can Do It!— In the spirit of the superhero theme, religion classes come to package thousands of canned good for shipment on Feb. 13. “An exciting aspect of the canned food drive is getting the faculty involved,” said Ms. Claire Gallagher (’04). “The faculty is willing to be vulnerable and silly on behalf of the students.”

This year, Dominican collected over 15,000 cans for Second Harvest Food Bank at Dominican’s 20th Annual Canned Food Drive held on Feb. 5-13.

“As a Dominican school, it is important to collectively act on the pillar of service,” said Mrs. Jill Cabes (’87), Vice President, Dominican Catholic Identity. “I love the spirit and excitement that build throughout the week.”

Second Harvest provides food and support to 700+ community partners and programs across 23 parishes. Dominican’s annual food drive is the largest food drive in the Greater New Orleans Area.

“Hunger is an everyday emergency,” said Ms. Emily Slazer, Second Harvest Food Sourcing Specialist. “In Louisiana, one in five households is at risk of hunger.”

With an exact total of 15,186 cans collected, Dominican provided 11,150 meals to the hungry.  

“The canned food drive brought the whole school together and showed that even a small act of donating can make a great impact on the community,” said senior Isabella Purpura, treasurer of CLC. “Our main focus is service to our community, and this is one of our biggest projects for which we advocate.”

Singing as one Catholic community, St. Rita and Dominican’s choirs join to fill the mass with hymns. The Justice Awareness Mass on Feb. 5 led by Fr. Peter Finney established the first annual celebration between the neighboring schools.

To kick off the canned food drive, Dominican hosted the Justice Awareness Mass on Feb. 5 and welcomed over 200 students from pre-k through grade 7 from neighboring St. Rita Catholic School to celebrate. Led by Celebrant Fr. Peter Finney, III, Pastor of St. Rita Catholic Church, the mass was all about bringing peace and justice to the community.

This year was Dominican’s first annual Peace Mass and the start of a yearly collaboration with St. Rita students, and even their choir.

“The mass is about cultivating peace,” said Mrs. Cabes. “This drive is our largest campus-wide service project, so it fits perfectly with our Justice Awareness Mass.”

“I love seeing the magnitude we are able to accomplish,” said Ms. Claire Gallagher (’04), campus minister. “On an individual bases, someone bringing in a few cans doesn’t seem like a lot, but when we all contribute, it’s exciting to see what we can do when we put all of our efforts together.”

  • Kathryn Valldejuli
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