On a mission

Twenty-six Marist High School juniors participated in a mission trip to New Orleans in mid-February. The group spent six days providing service and support to local organizations.

Each day, the students broke into small groups and worked at a variety of places in the New Orleans area. The teens packaged food at a pantry and met clients as they came to pick up their monthly package. Others volunteered at a local grade school, helping with clean up and playing with the students. One group spent a day working at a community garden that supports people with disabilities. The students dug irrigation trenches and rebuilt a brick compost station. Others also worked at a senior citizen center and on painting projects at a local church and volunteer camp. The week culminated with all the students working together at Rescue Ranch, which takes in abused horses and helps rehabilitate them and people through caretaker programs. Marist students cleaned out stalls, groomed the horses, and fed them, among other duties.

Each evening, the group gathered for prayer and reflection, learning about social justice and their call to help those least favored. There was also time for the group to take in the culture of New Orleans. They attended a Mardi Gras parade, enjoyed local food specialties, and hiked through a national park.

For many it was the first time traveling without their parents, and the first time participating in a program like this. Two more trips are scheduled this year. Marist students will travel to upstate New York near the Marist Brothers’ Retreat Center and Jamaica during Easter break to do community service.  

The students who are participated are: