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BREADCRUMB

VIRTUAL DAY OF SERVICE

April 1, 2020

St. Peter Chanel Day of Service encourages Notre Dame community to perform virtual acts of kindness and love.

Peter Chanel was acknowledged as a martyr in 1889 and subsequently canonized in 1954 by Pope Pius XII.
 


ND News exclusive: Interview with St. Peter Chanel

50+ Ideas for St. Peter Chanel Day of Service

On Friday, April 3, NDPMA students, faculty and staff will be taking a day off from the virtual world of academics to concentrate on doing "virtual good" in the community.

While recognizing the need to continue to stay safe and practice social distancing, this new virtual St. Peter Chanel Day of Service nonetheless is taking cues from Notre Dame's Make It Matter Day, the annual opportunity held each fall for students and their teachers to focus even more on the “Christian persons” and “upright citizens” aspects of the school mission. 

NDPMA's Campus Ministry department, which is organizing the day of service, put together a list of ideas (below) for the school community to consider. Ranging from FaceTiming with grandma and grandpa to making a thank you sign for sanitation workers and displaying it in the front yard, Cathy Zuccaro, director of campus ministry, said that although the Notre Dame community is physically quarantined, there still are plenty of ways to connect with others spiritually and through love.

"Even the smallest act of kindness toward someone else is putting our love into action," Zuccaro said. I know our NDPMA community will do just that in honor of St. Peter Chanel, who has always been an example of love in action." 

Students and faculty also are encouraged to share photos of their acts of kindness and service on social media using the hashtag #SPCDayOfService and/or email them to NDPMA Campus Ministry at campusministry@ndpma.org

Ideas for St. Peter Chanel Day of Service 

1. Make cards for nurses and doctors at a local hospital. 

2. FaceTime or video conference with a grandparent or a special member of your family or community.

3. Write a card (handwritten) and mail it to someone special, including a grandparent, aunt, uncle, or mentor, to cheer them up.

4. Help around your house by doing chores, cleaning your room or cleaning up the yard. Be a helper today!

5. Complete some spring cleanup yard work for a neighbor.

6. A Facebook group called “Rainbows over Michigan” recently has been created. Children are encouraged to put their rainbows, art or positive quotes in their home windows in an effort to keep passersby in good spirits. Join us in spreading "rainbows" and positivity across the world. Post your pictures on social media with the #rainbowsovermichigan hashtag.

7. Draw pictures or make cards for residents of a nursing home.

8. Make cards for our first responders and mail them to your local police/fire station.

9. Pray the Rosary.

10. Write a “thank you” note for your mail carrier and put it in your mailbox for when they pick it up.

11. Using sidewalk chalk, write positive notes around your neighborhood/town.

12. Plant some flowers.

13. Rake your flower beds or a neighbor’s flower beds (ask them first).

14. Set the table for dinner. 

15. Tell someone how much you love them.

16. Make dinner for your family or barbecue outside for them on a good day (you might have to clean the grill first).

17. Call a friend you haven’t seen in awhile to say hello.

18. Read a book to someone or to someone online.

19. Paint rocks with positive messages and hide them around your neighborhood/town.

20. Make a thank you sign for the sanitation workers and display it in your yard.

21. Leave bubbles or a friendly treat on a neighbor’s doorstep.

22. Clean out your closet. Make bags of items to donate when it is safe to do so.

23. Make cards for the local grocery store employees. 

24. Make cards for the local police and firefighters. 

25. Make a card for your teachers.

26. Make a family recipe. 

27. Bake Christmas cookies and leave on a neighbor’s porch.

28. Bake cookies for a friend or neighbor and leave them on the doorstep.

29. Complete a puzzle and then give it to someone else who might enjoy the challenge.

30. Complete your service learning reflection and submit it to Campus Ministry.

31. Go for a walk and wave at everyone you see.

32. Thank your parents for all the extra things they are doing for your family during these challenging days. Offer an apology if you have been upset with them or have given them a hard time, especially for something they cannot control.

33. Donate blood or make an appointment to donate blood.

34. Watch children in a backyard for a parent who needs to run an errand.

35. Make a video and share it with someone who might enjoy a lift to their day.

36. Offer to pick up groceries or medications for someone who might not be able to go out.

37. Drop off coffee, a snack or a meal on someone’s porch: a nurse, first responder, an older person.

38. Write a list of 20 aspects of your life for which you are grateful. Pray a prayer of thanksgiving. You might also let a loved one know if they are on your list.

39. Drop a note/email of gratitude to a current or former teacher.

40. Make a plan to stop vaping or smoking and carry it out. Ask God’s help and the help of a supportive friend to keep trying until you kick the habit.

41. Offer a prayer for a sick person or a person in need who you heard about on TV or social media, someone you do not know. Pray for people in Italy, Spain, China, another country or another part of the U.S. who are sick or in need.

42. Write a poem, song or reflection on a concern or a hope in your life, in our culture or in the world.

43. Invite your neighbors to come outside at a specific time to sing, play instruments or just to shout hello to one another.

44. Record yourself playing piano, guitar, etc., and send the video to a family member you are not able to visit (possibly a grandparent in assisted living).

45. Offer to walk your elderly neighbor’s dog.

46. Organize neighbors (via social media/phone) to stand outside their house and give a “standing ovation” for anyone leaving for work who is a nurse, doctor, EMT, etc.

47. Write a thank you letter and tape it to hand sanitizer for your postal carrier.

48. Make lawn signs for those doing essential jobs: medical staff, fire, police, religious, IT people, supply chain people, postal carriers, pharmacy workers, mechanics, chefs, etc.

49. Organize non-perishable food donations and deliver to homeless shelters while keeping a safe distance on pickup and delivery. Baldwin Center, Lighthouse, and Gleaners are possibilities.  

50. Write a letter of gratitude to each member of your family explaining why you love and appreciate them.

51. Create a Little Free Pantry in your neighborhood. Apply the Little Free Pantry and mini-pantry movement and the Little Free Library concept to activate community engagement of food insecurity.

Comments or questions? mkelly@ndpma.org

Follow Notre Dame on Twitter at @NDPMA.

About Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy
Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy is a private, Catholic, independent, coeducational day school located in Oakland County. Notre Dame Preparatory School enrolls students in grades nine through twelve and has been named one of the nation's best 50 Catholic high schools (Acton Institute) four times since 2005. Notre Dame's middle and lower schools enroll students in pre-kindergarten through grade eight. All three school are International Baccalaureate "World Schools." NDPMA is conducted by the Marist Fathers and Brothers and is accredited by the Independent Schools Association of the Central States and the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement. For more on Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy, visit the school’s home page at www.ndpma.org.