Xavier High School hosted its annual Service Fair on November 11. Representatives from nonprofit organizations of Cedar Rapids gathered in Xavier’s commons to showcase their opportunities to serve.
“Through service you learn about yourself, community, and your values,” Service Fair Coordinator Mr. Nick Satterlee said.
Students were able to sign up to provide service to places such as Meals on Wheels, the Salvation Army, Cedar Valley Humane Society, Bridgehaven, the Catherine McAuley Center, the Blue Zones Project, and many more. Most of these organizations need students to help with food pantries and donations.
Seniors Jacob Francois, Angela Hunt, and Katie Neumeyer represented the Senior Service Committee at the event. The committee has organized at least one service opportunity every month to help students complete their school-required 15 hours of service, along with their National Honor Society requirement.
The goal of the Senior Service Committee is focused on helping the homeless and raising money for Metro Catholic Outreach (MCO). The next event planned is to write Christmas letters to soldiers.
“This is a great way to get involved in new service opportunities, and we wanted to start a tradition and legacy that we can leave behind for next year to continue,” Neumeyer said.
The Catherine McAuley Center was one of the organizations in attendance at the Service Fair. They are looking for students to tutor, help with clerical work, and to organize the food pantry. Tutors need to have a desire to help others with educational goals and be able to work one-on-one with them. Those helping with clerical work would be greeting guests and doing various office tasks. They must be organized students and love to work with people. The food pantry is also in need of someone who is organized to transport and organize the donated food. The Catherine McAuley Center is planning on hosting a food drive at Xavier to increase their donations.
The main goal of all organizations at the service fair was to bring together students in the form of service in the community.