Bro. Jack Ventura, SM, Ministry Lead for the Marianist Family Encounter Project and Director of Mission Integration at Chaminade-Madonna College Preparatory (CMCP), Hollywood, FL, shares this update containing two actions for highlighting Goal # 7 of Laudato Si' Platform.
Goal # 7 of the Laudato Si' Action Platform (LSAP) is to commit to Community Resilience and Empowerment. Actions include promoting advocacy, encouraging rootedness, and a sense of belonging to local, national, and global communities.
Voter Registration
On Tuesday, October 4, 2022, the Rho Kappa National Social Studies Honor Society hosted a Voter Registration Drive. During our middle block time periods, students could pre-register or register to vote and update any contact information in preparation for Election Day.
Rho Kappa registered almost 100 students during the drive.
Mr. Bastidas, Social Studies Department Chair, said, "It was really nice seeing the honor society seniors participate in real civic engagement for their service hours. I imagine that two years from now, for the Presidential election, there will be even more interest in registering to vote."
Pack the Van
After Hurricane Ian impacted the state of Florida, students in the CMCP LIFE Ministry Group knew they needed to help make a difference. Pack the Van was initiated in response to helping the most vulnerable and marginalized due to a natural disaster. The idea was very simple – pack a van with water and other needed supplies and drive the van to the devastated areas on the west coast of Florida. LIFE Student Ministry collected donations of bottled water from the CMCP community from Monday, October 3, to Friday, October 7, 2022. Our students received donations before and after school.
On October 12, the CMCP van departed for Punta Gorda and Naples, Florida, to deliver over 250 cases of bottled water. In addition, monetary assistance to purchase a pallet of water, backpacks filled with school supplies, and handwritten notes from our St. Martin de Porres, a Marianist grade school in Uniondale, NY, were also delivered.
When asked why this project was so important, Maria F. '24 shared, "Collecting water for Hurricane Ian was important to me because I'm aware of the damage left behind by natural disasters, and I wanted to do my part."
In conclusion,
both activities that occurred in October aided our educational community at CMCP. Our students were reminded of the importance of supporting and giving back to their community and gained insight into a sense of belonging to a larger community.
Thanks to you students of Chaminade-Madonna and to you, Jack, for these good initiatives!