WOONSOCKET — Simple acts of kindness have the potential to change someone’s life for the better. It’s a fact students at Mount Saint Charles Academy and St. Cecilia School are well aware of.
“When I first came to Mount, I had no experience with lockers and I could not get my locker open,” said Ethan Guevremont, 17, a junior at Woonsocket’s Mount Saint Charles. He is the vice president of the school’s Student Leadership Association. “Some senior I never met before introduced himself to me and opened my locker for me. It was very welcoming.”
Klayton Dasilva, 11, a sixth-grader at St. Cecilia in Pawtucket shared a similar story. He spoke of the gratitude he felt when his father helped him by giving him a desk at home to make it easier for him to get his work done there.
“It was nice for him to take time out of his day for me,” Dasilva said. “I was really appreciative to have my own space.”
Knowing how important it is to think of others, both schools recently took part in activities in honor of Catholic Schools Week to raise funds for Bishop Thomas J. Tobin’s “Keep the Heat On” campaign.
Mount Saint Charles students raised $1,000 by dressing in summer clothes on Jan. 28 to get a sense of what it’s like to survive without heat during the winter. St. Cecilia students also did their part, raising more than $500 on Jan. 31 when they donned scarfs, gloves and hats in class as a reminder that not everyone has the means to warm their homes when it’s cold outside.
“All these kids are participating in this activity just to have fun, but they don’t really realize it’s for people who don’t have heat,” said Sophia Prazres, 10, a fifth-grader at St. Cecilia. “When they realize it, it makes them feel happy.”
Jane Morrissey, 11, a sixth-grader, said, “when you help someone, everything turns out better for that person.”
Jim Jahnz, the Emergency Services coordinator for the office of Catholic Charities and Social Ministry for the Diocese of Providence, agrees. He stopped by Mount Saint Charles last week and told students that their efforts don’t go unnoticed, as a $1,000 donation has the potential to help at least five families to stay warm.
So far this season, he said, “Keep the Heat On” has assisted 1,000 households in need. This winter, he reminded students, has been extremely cold. With several snowstorms, as well as an increase in heating oil prices, people have been struggling more than usual.
“We’re really on pace for this to be our busiest season,” said Jahnz, noting that the 2008 season has been the most difficult year due to the recession.
Still, there’s good news. Rhode Island recently received $3 million in heating assistance through the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), a federal program that provides states with annual funding to operate home energy assistance programs for low income households. Since heating oil costs more than $4 per gallon in Rhode Island, it’s a relief for people in need.
But when Rhode Island families exhaust LIHEAP, as well as other public and private forms of assistance, “Keep the Heat On” is there to help. It is funded by grants from the Catholic Charity Appeal, donations from parishes, individuals, businesses, and, in this case, generous students.
“The whole mission statement of the school is to help your fellow man,” said St. Cecilia Principal Mary Tetzner. “This is one way we can help.”
Students and educators at Mount Saint Charles feel the same. Julie Beauvais, the school’s student leadership association moderator and member of the academic support center staff, said students annually raise funds for organizations through various initiatives.
Senior Sarah Kennedy, 18, the president of the Student Leadership Association, said while they typically host clothing drives, they thought wearing summer clothes to school in the middle of winter was a more creative way of showing students how fortunate they are.
“We complain about some things that are so small, but in reality people are suffering bigger problems,” she said. “I’m proud of the turnout as a whole. I’m glad [the funds are] going to good use.”
The group’s treasurer, junior Peter Soucy, 16, along with his classmate, Colin Berg, 17, the group’s secretary, said even though they couldn’t wait to put warm clothes on that day, they know the fundraiser literally paid off. While they’ll probably never meet the people benefitting from their efforts, they are pleased to help.
“You don’t have to do the amazing, touchdown thing,” Berg said. “Just doing a simple thing to help someone in need can go a long way.”
