A Celebration of Service

Brian Carney

VP for Mission & Identity

When St. Ignatius founded the first Jesuit school in Messina, Italy in 1548, he envisioned a transformative educational experience for young men which would inspire them to lead lives dedicated to God’ s greater glory and service to others. Service today continues to be integral to the educational experience at Fordham Prep. In celebration of the Prep’ s 175th anniversary and this mission of service, April was designated as a month-long Celebration of Service. Alumni throughout the country shared photos and stories of the service they performed in their local communities. Parents, students and alumni also participated in a local service project, painting and cleaning at two Catholic grade schools in the Bronx. The many projects are a source of inspiration for all of us in the Prep community and remind us that our call to be men and women for others is lived out each day not only by our students but our alumni as well.

Do you have a story of service you wish to share? Email carneyb @ fordhamprep. org.

Here are a few of the inspiring stories of service reported to us. Dan Somma ' 62 kicked off the Celebration of Service on Saturday April 1st at Our Lady of Guadalupe Migrant Worker Mission Food Pantry in Wimaima, FL. In addition to working at the pantry, Dan wrote the grant which led Publix Supermarket to donate $ 10,000 toward a truck for the program. Dan volunteers three days a week at the Pantry. Twice a week he helps unload trucks, and on Saturdays he helps supply 50 pound boxes of food plus produce to about 250 families. Our Lady’ s Pantry supplies food to approximately 250 families per week with 1,000 families signed up. 75 % of these families are migrant workers; 20 % are the elderly poor; 5 % are homeless or battered women.

“ I read in a parish bulletin that Little Sisters of the Assumption needed tutors for children in East Harlem. On Monday and Wednesday afternoons I tutor a third grade boy in English and Math. He was born in the US, but his parents were born in Guatemala. His problem is that he uses Spanish at home and with his friends, and so he uses very little English outside the classroom in the public school.”— William Murphy’ 58

“ I have been mentoring offenders at James River Work Center( Virginia Department of Corrections) outside Richmond for about seven years now on most Thursday evenings. This work is spiritual in nature, but not religious,

and has resulted in more than a few men building solid lives for themselves after their release.”— John Pine’ 72

“ I ' m serving as the Commander of a U. S. Army Task Force in Northern Cameroon. As part of our community outreach efforts, we found a regional orphanage run by a group of Sisters. For the past seven months, the families of my unit back at Fort Campbell, KY have gathered old clothes, toys, school supplies, and now baby formula and cribs for the 80 + children that live in the orphanage. I arrived to Cameroon to take over the TF in March 2017 and made my first visit there within a week of our arrival.”— Max Ferguson’ 02

" My wife Debbie and I are part of a team of RV ' ers that are called Habitat for Humanity RV Care-A-Vanners. We get together with a group of fellow Care-A-Vanners( usually between 5 and 8 RVs) at a campground near a build site and work on a project for 2 weeks. We had heard about the incredible HFH affiliate out in Sullivan, IL from other Care-A-Vanners so when a build opened up out there this year, we decided to check it out. It did not disappoint. The support from every facet of this community is simply amazing! As you know from the Prep ' s history with HFH, building with Habitat is a very rewarding experience and one that allows us to give back and fulfill the Prep ' s mission as men for others."— Joe DeLosa’ 77