Mid Rivers Newsmagazine 5-1-24

20 I SCHOOLS I
May 1, 2024
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Academy students answer
service call to action
By BETHANY COAD
Nestled in the heart of Saint Charles is
the historic Academy of the Sacred Heart.
Surrounded by history and imbued with
traditions, those who walk through the
halls are charged with the task of looking
outward to the community around them.
One of the school’s hallmark programs is
its acts of service.
Religion and social studies teacher
Tammy Strother has been a faculty
member of the Academy for 14 years and
is in charge of the service-learning program.
“Since one of the subjects I teach is religion,
service learning goes hand in hand
with our belief that each person should be
valued and respected and that we are to
live in communion with others,” Strother
said. “Teaching allows me to interact
with students and watch and encourage
them to be independent thinkers, true to
themselves and active in their community.
Watching students experience service
brings me great joy.”
Academy middle school students have
always participated in service to the community,
but in 2020, when COVID hit, the
program ground to a halt. Fast forward
to the 2022-23 school year, the servicelearning
program resumed at the sites
where the students had previously worked
so hard to establish a relationship.
“That is when I started coordinating the
program,” Strother said. “Our established
sites were open and excited to hear about
us returning and we also reached out to
some new facilities to join our program.”
Brimming with excitement to venture
out into the community again, middle
school students made plans to visit a specific
service site each month from September
to April.
“This allows them to build relationships
with the people they support,” Strother
said. “Many residents and clients at
the service sites look forward to these
monthly visits.”
The service-learning
program has three components:
learning about the
needs of the community
and how they can best support
those needs, direct
service while developing a
receptacle relationship and
making time to reflect on
the experience of serving
and the relationships that
are built – an important
pillar of the success of the
program.
“All the service sites are
asked to meet with the students
to share information
about their clients and program,”
Strother explained.
“We want the students to
have an idea of what they
will be experiencing and
ask any questions they may
have.”
Throughout the year, students visit
13 off-campus service locations with
each grade level focusing on a need in
the community. Ranging from the needs
of the elderly, families in crisis, people
experiencing poverty, and those with
physical and/or intellectual challenges,
some facilities have been working with
the Academy for years while others are
new.
“The most exciting thing is I get to see
the residents every month and build on
the relationships,” one Academy student
shared. Another said it was exciting to
“get to play games with the residents and
make strong bonds with them so each
time you come back they remember you
and you remember them.”
A longtime partner with the Academy is
TheBridge STL, a foundation that offers
“dignified” shopping experiences for individuals
and families.
“On our last visit, we sorted clothing by
Academy students go off-campus to serve at community organizations such as TheBridge STL.
(Source: Academy of the Sacred Heart)
size and color, sorted through new donations
to see what could be used or sent to
other facilities, sorted shoes, helped put
new inventory out on the boutique floor
and even set up a new display,” Strother
said. “The students love feeling their
efforts make a difference.”
Serving brings a kind of adventure with
the impact that is being made.
“What excites me whenever we go to
TheBridge is putting things on the racks
that I like so someone else can enjoy
them,” shared one of the middle schoolers.
Service learning is just one aspect of
the plan to action. There also are sustainability
and social justice clubs that meet
weekly, and the sixth grade class focuses
on poverty and collects donations to put
together “blessing bags” for people who
are experiencing homelessness or families
who are experiencing want.
“We want our students to become aware
of the needs of others in our community,”
Strother said. “Students (need) to understand
their responsibility for being stewards
of the earth which includes taking
care of all people, and that we must
preserve the earth’s resources for future
generations. Everyone has value and is an
important part of our society and that ultimately
they can make a difference.”
Strother said the greatest need for community
service is finding individuals that
will help, and encourages thinking about
what kind of service appeals to each student.
“I would also find out what way they
would like to be involved and tell them,
‘don’t be afraid to pursue your passion,’”
Strother said.
“Helping the community always makes
me feel needed in the world,” a student
said. “If someone wanted to help, I would
tell them sure, because the community
needs more helpers to make the community
better.”