Visitation School Bustles with Thanksgiving Food Drive

There’s a heightened hum of activity in the hallways of as the grades prepare over 100 Thanksgiving meals for families in need of assistance.

Kathleen Daniewicz, the director of campus ministry, said the North Minneapolis Visitation Monastery has signed up 125 families to receive the food support.

The call for help this holiday season is clear.

“Obviously the need is greater, with the tornado destruction and all that,” said Daniewicz. For example, she said that the school’s fall coat drive garnered more than 100 additional coats this year than past years for the monastery’s neighborhood, “and they all went.”

The stress of the economy has impacted donations as well. 

Daniewicz said she has heard from families that are still giving, but cutting back from levels they have donated in the past. 

 “I would definitely say there’s been a difference, though people are still very generous here,” said Daniewicz—“no impact on the enthusiasm of the kids though!” 

Visitation students have thrown themselves into their tasks of promoting, collecting and sorting food into boxes.

“Everyone’s really enthusiastic about it, and everyone really likes knowing that it’s going to people in need and we’re helping people,” said Serafina Schimek, a sixth-grade student.

The sixth grade is responsible for sorting the food donations and filling the “pick list” for each box.

“It seems everyone has fun doing it. It’s all about sharing your blessings,” said Nicole Decker, sixth grade.

“At first I had no clue what to do, and it was kind of frustrating actually, until I kinda thought about why we were doing it, and that helped,” said sixth-grader Anthony Owens.

The boxes will be topped with a frozen turkey collected by the seniors and delivered to the monastery Tuesday afternoon. From there, 25 boxes will be distributed to nonprofit organizations including the Phyllis Wheatley Community Center, and the rest will be delivered to private homes by the monastery sisters, students and volunteers.

“It’s really amazing actually to see the way that everyone responds in the neighborhood. It’s a very welcoming community,” said senior Molly Kurth of visiting the monastery in North Minneapolis. “You walk in and see how loved the sisters are and how everyone appreciates what we’re doing and what the sisters do for them.”

That experience goes further than a typical Thanksgiving tradition for the school. “It is really important for our students to roll up their sleeves, and learn a life lesson of sharing their bounty,” said Daniewicz in a statement. “We are not just practicing charity; we are modelling justice.”