Recap
“The Great Ignatian Challenge”
teachings and example set by St. Ignatius. The Challenge
is another example of the extraordinary things that can
be achieved when good people are in the service of
others.”
Cardinal Dolan added his congratulations saying, “What
these school have accomplished is no surprise at all! St.
Ignatius Loyola asked the Jesuits he founded to form
“men for others.” That’s what these students are – men
and women for others!”
Fordham Prep students and Director of Campus Ministry
Mike Kravatz dropping off food items at Mercy Center in
the South Bronx.
The Thanksgiving food drive competition among five
metro-area Jesuit high schools wrapped up and the
winners are the local food banks and charities that
received more than 101,000 food items. Cardinal Dolan
remarked that the schools’ success was “no surprise at all!”
The spirited Thanksgiving competition was designed to
raise awareness of hunger in our communities while
filling local food banks and pantries with much-needed
provisions. The undisputed winners of this Great Ignatian
Challenge were the local food banks and charities whose
shelves were filled with the equivalent of 44 tons of
provisions.
The participating Jesuit high schools included Fordham
Preparatory School, Loyola School, Regis High School,
Saint Peter’s Prep, and Xavier High School.
When the Great Ignatian Challenge was announced in
November, an anonymous donor – now revealed to be
Jim Rowen ’82 – pledged up to $250,000 for tuition
assistance to be divided among the schools based on the
amount of food collected per student. Mr. Rowen, who
serves as our Board Chair, said he was inspired by the
existing Thanksgiving food drives at each school.
Mr. Rowen said, “Jesuit high schools are most often
recognized for their educational rigor. The Great Ignatian
Challenge clearly demonstrates their commitment to
helping those who are less fortunate in our wider
community. For over 100 years our students, the
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A tremendous thank you to all the Prep students, families
and staff for all their support. In the end, the Prep
collected an astounding 34,327 items of food. That’s
27,501 lbs. or 13.75 tons of food! Assuming the food
banks, pantries and soup kitchens we supported gave 5
items to each person in need that means we just gave
food to roughly 7,000 hungry New Yorkers. We couldn’t
have done this without a tremendous amount of support.
While we didn't win the Challenge, we did create an
incredible mountain of food in the Hall of Honor (and the
most food among all five schools). And with the coverage
on News 12 and WNBC, we helped more organizations
than any previous year because they contacted us to see
if we might have some food to spare. To date, we have
provided thousands of items of food for the following
organizations.
• Part of the Solution (POTS)
• Concourse House- transitional home for single mothers
• Mercy Center, Hunts Point
• YWCA Women’s Residence of White Plains
• Our Lady of Assumption, Food Pantry, Bronx
• St. Catherine of Siena Outreach, Franklin Square, NY
• Anna House, Belmont Childcare Association