Jesuit College Prep is not just a private high school well known for its academic and sports excellence. It is much more than that. At its core, Jesuit is a close knit community made up of students, teachers, and alumni who have benefited and continue to benefit from the generosity of others. But, more importantly, the Jesuit community continuously strives to give back to each other, the local community, and beyond.
This year alone, student council shed from its coffers $20,000 in service project funding, monies received from school dances and tuition fees, all designed to promote student growth and community outreach through clubs and extra-curricular activities. Student Council Treasurer Mason Amelotte ’14 explained that “[Student Council] set the limit at $1,000, reserving the right to go over this amount for clubs that Student Council deemed worthy of receiving more.” Some clubs requested the full $1,000 while other clubs asked for as little as $50.
Jesuit used part of these funds to donate $1,000 each to a diverse set of organizations including Working Boys Center of Quito, El Paso Sacred Heart Parish, and Jesuit Rangers Rugby. Locally, this support allows many Jesuit clubs and organizations to participate in interesting and interactive activities that promote the development of Jesuit students, focusing on forming “Men for Others”. The generous funding of the school, alumni, and families supports the tradition of giving back for current and future generations.
Examples of the good works made possible are numerous. The Medical Society, a club dedicated to helping and healing others, used $2,000 in donations for transportation, lodging, and food for its annual Guatemala trip. The trip allowed Medical Society members to work for social justice and creating better lifestyles for others. As St. Ignatius Loyola prayed, to give, and to not count the cost.
Some people think incorrectly that just because Jesuit is a private high school, students here are sheltered from what occurs outside the school, sports, and family. Jesuit provides many students with amazing community service opportunities.
The Community Service programs, headed by Mr. Anthony Mattachione and Mr. Richard Perry, are inspiring. On May 9th, 2013, both supervisors directed the annual Jesuit Special Games, which hosted 400 students with special needs. Helping run the program, were 257 Jesuit seniors, who collaborated as a community in hope of creating a social and fun day for these special needs kids. The turnout was awe-inspiring, put smiles on 400 kids’ faces were able to help and was made possible because of $1,000 in donations.
Jesuit also helped fund the trip to the Immaculate Catholic Church in Bethel, Alaska. This trip was run by Mr. Mattachione, and all together, 13 students from Jesuit attended. The participants helped rebuild the community of Bethel by funding the parish itself and helping to actually build the thrift store. This trip asked for $1,000, and in return, they helped save a weakening parish and community. Donations of $1,000 went toward buying supplies and renovating the local parish thrift store. This Church is essential to the survival of the community and serves as the last hub for any service projects, aimed at helping 50 villages along the Yukon delta.
For Amelotte and the rest of student council, their main goal was to provide money to the groups that would use those funds to impact either the Jesuit community at large or some other great external cause, rather than benefitting the group alone. Amelotte went on to explain that Student Council does not “discriminate by the size or the age of the club, but rather specifically look at the intended goals of the group, and how those goals reflect what it means to be part of Jesuit.”
As Mother Teresa once said “we must give back to the community even if we don’t get anything in return…if you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish motives, ulterior motives, be kind anyway. Give the best you have, and it will never be enough, give the best you have anyway because it was never about you and them, it’s about you and God.” Jesuit instills in its students and faculty Mother Teresa’s beliefs and her values daily.
