A Unique 100th Day Celebration

At Saints Cyril and Methodius School in Deer Park, the Student Council has come up with a unique way of motivating SSCM students to participate in a food and non-perishable items drive for SSCM’s Parish Outreach food pantry. Hosting a contest this past week for open participation, they paired up various grades and then pitted the teams against one another to see which team can be the first to stock up 100 non-perishable items for donation to SSCM’s Parish Outreach.

Local parishes and their volunteers are the lifeblood of parish social ministry on Long Island. Across Long Island, combined parish ministries include thousands of volunteers and serve as many as 75,000 people in need each year. Particularly in cold weather, the services that such parish ministries offer to the surrounding communities become even more invaluable to those in need.

Community Service is an overriding theme within the walls of Saints Cyril and Methodius Elementary School. With the school offering a variety of volunteer opportunities to explore each year, SSCM students benefit from the experience they gain during these activities and their surrounding community benefits from their services, from activities such as this food drive to nursing home involvement and more. In working with these organizations, SSCM students are reminded of the importance of serving the community around them and they gain skills they can take with them for life.

On a wider scale, studies have shown that youth who volunteer just one hour or more a week are 50% less likely to abuse alcohol, cigarettes, become pregnant or engage in other destructive behavior. Furthermore, youth who volunteer are more likely to do well in school, graduate, and exercise their right to vote. When asked of their own volunteer experiences, young teens have said that some of the benefits they’ve received from volunteering include: learning to respect others; learning to be helpful and kind; learning to understand people who are different; developing leadership skills, becoming more patient, and gaining a better understanding of citizenship – all of the skills to take our students gracefully into their young adulthood with a sense of community and altruism.