On October 4th, Padua’s junior class left school to make a difference in the community around them. Attending 14 different project sites, the entire junior class spent their day serving children and adults in need. There were many sites ranging in locale and needs. The girls went as far as Camden, New Jersey, and as close as St. Anthony of Padua’s Preschool. They covered many different aspects of serving that ranged from washing cars at the Seamen’s Center, caring for elderly people at the Brandywine Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, caring for animals at the Delaware Nature Center, to serving food at the Emmanuel Dining Room.

    One group of girls, in particular, had a special opportunity to serve with DeSales Service Works in Camden, New Jersey. These girls had the chance to spend most of the day in the city. Throughout the day, they delivered food to a shelter, cleaned up a local park, and spent time with children at a local grade school. At the school, they were able to interact with the students by playing at recess and eating lunch with them. Emily H. mentioned that her time in Camden made her change the way she looks at service,” because service doesn’t always mean just raising money for people, it can be simple things like talking to someone or showing them you care.” In Camden, the group of girls took away feelings of humility and thankfulness and many memories.

    At St. Anthony’s Preschool, another group of over thirty juniors made a difference right around the corner from Padua. These girls spent their day with the children enrolled in the preschool. They played games with them at recess, ate lunch with them, and helped them go through different activities such as crafts or games. The teachers at St. Anthony’s commented that it was a great experience for the girls to come over and spend time with the kids. The kids really enjoyed having extra “playmates” around to spend the day with and the juniors had a great time playing with them as well.

    Overall, Junior Service Day was a great success for all of those involved. The students took away a lot from their time at the different project sites. They learned a lot about what it means to serve other people and how diverse service can be. Many different juniors mentioned that they feel as if they took away just as much as those they were serving might have. The juniors are still talking about how impactful their time in service was!