Cooking up help for the needy

"We feel that our classroom education is excellent, but we also know that kids learn by doing," said Maureen Bernstein of St. Thomas the Apostle School in Delmar.

The social justice coordinator at the school was referring to a project that seventh-graders have been participating in for five years with the residents at Mercy House in Albany, a shelter for women in crisis.

"I thought it might be good for the students to become involved in helping out there," she explained. "We see this service as an integrated part of the curriculum: doing what our faith teaches us to do."

Meals by kids

One project involves children cooking for the Mercy House residents.

When The Evangelist visited the school kitchen recently, Ashley Rafferty, Dalton Lyons, Emily Macfarlane and Melissa Saxe were in the midst of chopping garlic and onions, and mixing them with Italian spices, tomato sauce and hamburger under the watchful eyes of Deborah Macfarlane and Pamela Rafferty, parent-volunteers.

The students were making lasagna -- and chocolate chip cookies -- for delivery to Mercy House. While there, the kids spent two hours doing odd jobs to assist the staff and residents.

The students work throughout the school year in teams of four or five to raise money to buy the food, then cook and deliver it.

Hands-on experience

"Our intention is to give the students an opportunity to experience how others live, to help others in a situation where help is needed, and to give them a sense of community awareness and the social justice issues in our communities," Mrs. Bernstein said.

"At the beginning of the school year, Jean Dobbs, director of Mercy House, comes to the school and talks to the seventh-graders, so they all get to know her right at the beginning. She explains what Mercy House is, who lives there and why, and then answers any questions they may have."

Later, the students write an essay about their experience and talk about what they have learned.

Reactions

The response the students shared with The Evangelist shows how positive the experience is:

* "So far, this has been a really good experience. It's made me realize how fortunate I am. I'm excited about going to Mercy House," said Emily Macfarlane.

* "I'm happy to be helping others, and I guess a little excited, too," Melissa Saxe remarked.

* "It's been fun. I like to cook anyway. I'm looking forward to meeting the residents," explained Dalton Lyons.

* "I want to see where the residents live, what their life is like. It feels good to help women that really need it," said Ashley Rafferty.

(The social justice program at St. Thomas involves students in every class, K-8, in a community service project.)

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