As part of their annual community service project, Resurrection School students recently participated in two Midnight Runs, as they have for nearly 20 years.
At the beginning of the school year, Dale Williams, director of Midnight Run, came to the school to give all seventh and eighth graders an introduction to the program — its history and its aim to deliver food and clothing to those living on the streets of New York City and engage with them when you do.
To fund the two runs, students collected cash donations after mass at Church of Resurrection. Thanks to the generosity of the Rye community, the students were able to purchase extra clothing and supplies. The children were also very grateful for the support of Stop & Shop in Port Chester and Crisfield’s in Rye, both of which generously donated food.
On the day of the November 17 run, right after school, seventh-grade volunteers made delicious hot soup while eighth graders from Mrs. Nicastro’s class sorted, labeled, and folded clothing, and made sandwiches and toiletry bags to serve 125 people in need.
That night, students came back to school to load all the supplies, containers of warm soup, and hot chocolate into five SUVs driven by parent volunteers and accompanied by Assistant Principal Robert Forcelli and English teacher Audrey Blondel. Each vehicle was dedicated to certain items, including different size clothing, shoes, socks, and toiletry kits, as well as prepackaged food.
At 10, the Midnight Runners arrived in Manhattan. The eighth graders handed out supplies and interacted with the homeless, which is what makes the Midnight Run an extraordinary experience for all.
In one instance, after receiving the supplies he needed, one man started talking about his childhood and the fun times he’d had in his life. He seemed pleased to be able to talk with people who cared about what he was going through.
Many of the Resurrection students were humbled by the experience and have already signed up to volunteer next year.
