At Hope of the Valley Thrift Shop, students organized the donations that are used to help the homeless get a new start in life.

On Saturday, September 22, Campus Ministry at Chaminade’s middle school campus hosted its second annual Service Saturday. Service is a big part of the Chaminade experience, and through the Apostolic Works program, student’s missionary spirit leads them to give direct service to those in need through various methods of outreach. Service Saturday was an opportunity for students to put their Apostolic Works Commissioning into action and become agents of change.

At the Pregnancy Counseling Clinic, volunteers worked on prepping, stuffing and boxing baby bottles for upcoming baby bottle drives.

At the West Valley Food Pantry Garden, students helped with weeding and resetting the beds for the Fall planting.

More than 200 students, parents, faculty, and staff met at the Chatsworth campus for breakfast and prayer service before heading out to their destinations.

Volunteers served ten organizations and collectively performed more than 400 service hours. “I really enjoyed working alongside students and parents as a participant of Service Saturday,” said middle school principal, Michael Valentine.  “It was a great opportunity to give back to our local community and bond together with members of our Chaminade family.”

Each service group had a fantastic experience serving their local community while discovering an appreciation for their dignity and self-worth, as well as the dignity and self-worth of others. “I would say this experience opened our eyes to the love and friendship that can be formed when we all come together as one family and share our gifts with each other,” says middle school parent Melissa Mandyam. “It was just a wonderful day that we will never forget.”

Volunteers joined Tree People and assisted with cleaning up the environment, watering, removing invasive species, and planting seedlings in the Santa Monica Mountains.