Joliet Catholic Academy puts Christ back in Christmas
Published Dec 20, 2007Once again, Joliet Catholic Academy’s Angels and Hilltoppers excelled by donating 9,783 pounds of food to a fundraiser sponsored by JCA. The teachers in charge of the food drive were Suzi Arnett and Celeste Mackey. Compared to last year’s 18,378 pounds, this year Arnett and Mackey challenged the students to only buy canned goods instead of the bulk packaging that students brought in last year. Last year the food went to food kitchens in the Joliet area so the bulk packaging was important. This year the food went to parishes in the Joliet Diocese which made the small canned goods significant. Again, the incentive was a competition in which all grade levels competed against each other and even the faculty and staff joined in on the fun. But with competing against each other, all students and teachers understood the importance of collecting food for those in need. “This is just another example of what JCA does for the community,” said Kathryn Ceranski, a senior. “It makes me think of just how lucky some people are but also that it is important to help the ones in need.”
Another community service project JCA started was called “Adopt-a-Family.” All grade levels were assigned a family in need from the Joliet area. Catholic Charities provided JCA with a selection of families in need and senior student council members assigned them to each grade level; the different homerooms were assigned a member of that particular family. “I thought this was such a great idea,” said senior Ashlee Hindo. “I was very excited to deliver the gifts to these families.” There was even an instance in which one of the mothers is expecting, and a homeroom was in charge of purchasing gifts for the baby. Laura Mach and Debra Witmer organized the event with the help of several senior class student council representatives. Each family received toys and clothes for the children along with clothes for the parents. To go along with the presents, each family received a money donation to spend at the grocery store for a Christmas dinner.
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