CHARLOTTE — Many relief efforts are underway to assist the people in Texas with recovery from the devastation of Hurricane Harvey. As the damage left by the storm became apparent to the students at Charlotte Catholic High School, they began asking what they could do to make a significant difference in the lives of those who need help after the hurricane.
Campus Ministry staff members made numerous telephone calls in early September, and learned that while many organizations were assisting people in Houston, smaller towns and cities in Texas still were struggling. A call was placed to the Diocese of Beaumont, and the idea was born to help the families of Beaumont’s Catholic schools.
Financial assistance was the first part of the high school’s relief efforts. For 10 days in mid-September, Charlotte Catholic students collected donations from friends and family, and gave themselves, as well. A total of $4,000 was sent to the Diocese of Beaumont, and another $1,000 to the Diocese of Victoria.
“Thank you hardly seems enough,” wrote Marcia Stevens, superintendent of the Catholic schools in Beaumont. “We deeply appreciate all Charlotte Catholic is doing to support and help us recover from Harvey. You give us encouragement and strength.”
Students began the second phase of their relief efforts in late September. They compiled a comprehensive list of items needed by the Beaumont schools and their families. For the schools, students collected rugs for the school floors, school uniforms, books for the school libraries, paper and school supplies, and plastic tubs for storage. Cleaning products, bleach, mold- and mildew-blocking products, paper plates, plastic utensils, paper towels, and hand sanitizers were collected for families. For the rebuilding stage, Charlotte Catholic families sent in furniture, lamps, bedding, towels, dishes, silverware, cookware and small appliances.
Other schools in the Mecklenburg Area Catholic Schools system were contacted to see if they would like to help.
“In particular, I’d like to recognize the faculty, students and families of St. Gabriel, St. Matthew, St. Patrick and Our Lady of the Assumption schools,” said M.J. Dawson, Charlotte Catholic’s campus minister. “We are so grateful to them for partnering with us in this outreach project. The kids at St. Matthew also wrote letters of encouragement to the students in Beaumont, which was a very special thing for us to include in the delivery.”
Charlotte Catholic students organized and packed the donations into labeled boxes and plastic tubs, and on Oct. 3, they loaded a 26-foot rental truck with the organized items. Early on Oct. 4, Assistant Principal Randy Belk and retired football coach Jim Oddo set out on the long drive to Beaumont in the rented truck.
“This is something I really enjoy doing,” Belk said. “This is my seventh trip of this kind, and I’m always glad I did it. It’s a wonderful thing to be able to help your neighbors in need.”
“As we got closer to Beaumont, the damage from the storm was obvious,” he continued. “We came in on Interstate 10, and every house along the way had its entire contents piled along the road. Ten miles out, we passed a huge field where dump trucks were unloading people’s furniture and belongings to get them off the roads. The campgrounds we passed were crowded with people in campers and tents who had to leave their homes.”
Their rental truck was unloaded at Monsignor Kelly Catholic High School in Beaumont on Oct. 5.
Belk and Oddo said they were amazed at the spirit and resilience of those they met.
“Everyone at the high school was so pleasant and glad to see us,” Belk said. “Marcia Stevens, the superintendent, met us there, and 30 to 40 kids got the truck unloaded in about an hour. They were excited to see how much we brought, and told us their stories. One young man went to bed on the night of the storm, and woke to find water everywhere in the house. His family got out safely, but they had nine feet of water in their home, so every day after school, he goes home and helps rip out the damage, down to the studs. They lost everything.”
The third phase of the project, prayer for those in Beaumont and all those affected by Hurricane Harvey, continues at Charlotte Catholic.
“It is efforts and projects like this one that make me so proud to be a part of the Charlotte Catholic community,” said Principal Kurt Telford. “The students really drove this outreach project, collecting money and supplies, and our Campus Ministry department united other MACS schools into a community effort that truly will make a difference to the families of the Beaumont Catholic schools. It is amazing how much good we can do when our community pulls together. This is our faith in action.”
— Carolyn Kramer Tillman. Special to the Catholic News Herald. Carolyn Kramer Tillman is assistant director, Advancement and Communications, for Charlotte Catholic High School.
CHARLOTTE — For Holy Trinity Middle School, this is a special year of drawing closer to Our Blessed Mother.
School chaplain Father Joseph Matlak sees middle school as an especially valuable time for students and their families to seek the protection, blessing and example of Our Lady.
Special liturgies, events and programs have been planned, including the celebration of Marian feasts throughout the year, a different family praying the rosary each day for the school, retreats for students focused on Our Lady, and the “Queen of Heaven” Bible Study for parents.
To mark the year, a beautiful new statue of Our Lady of Fatima was commissioned for the school. This gift from a group of parents was hand-carved and painted in Fatima, Portugal. The statue was blessed after a rosary for parents, and crowned at Mass on Oct. 13, the centennial of the “miracle of the sun.”
After Mass, Father Matlak consecrated the school to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. He called on the students to give “God their hearts … and be genuine” in their prayer and sacrifices. Retelling the story of the miracle at Fatima, he encouraged the students to learn four lessons from it: “Make the best Holy Communion you can. Pray the rosary every day. Offer little sacrifices for the conversion of others. Consecrate yourselves to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.” He concluded by noting, “(What you do for God) doesn’t have to be huge. It has to be real. Then you will learn to experience God’s peace. And if each one of you experiences God’s peace, the whole world will be changed – one middle school student at a time.”
Parent Catherine Farley expressed a sentiment shared by many about this year of focus on the Blessed Virgin Mary: “As our children begin to soar more and more on their own, I feel a comfort in knowing that first and foremost, God is present in their lives, but that they also have a spiritual mother to guide them.”
— Darby McClatchy, Special to the Catholic News Herald . Darby McClatchy is the communications coordinator for St. Gabriel Church.