MADISON — For the 10th year, students, teachers, and parents at Edgewood High School (EHS) ventured out together into the community to do acts of service.
The projects for the annual Edgewood in the Community Day October 7 ranged in terms of muscle work and dirtiness. The students helping to renovate the Habitat for Humanity house, for instance, certainly got their share of dust, and probably more so than the students doing crafts with residents at CARE Wisconsin.
But all of the projects had one thing in common: they helped organizations in and around Madison, both secular and religious, with much-needed volunteer work.
Commitment to service
The annual Edgewood in the Community Day is the beginning of a yearlong commitment to service for students at the Catholic high school. Every student who graduates is expected to give at least 100 service hours during their time at the school — many serving more than that.
“Not everyone is as fortunate, and we all need to do our part in this,” said Celeste Lourigan, a junior, who was at the moment using her skills as a theater set crew member to paint the walls of the sacristy at St. Peter Church on Madison’s east side.
“The church relies on volunteer service — and because we’re a part of the parish, we should help in the parish,” she said.
During their service work that morning and afternoon at the church, students took on a variety of tasks. They cleaned screens and windows, floors, bathrooms, and pews; cleaned and stained the rectory deck; mowed the lawn; and painted a few small walls.
“After they come, we won’t have anything to do for the rest of the year,” said Fr. Roger Nilles, the pastor at the parish. “They’ve been really good the past couple of years.”