It’s Catholic Schools Week 2013, and to celebrate I’ve compiled this list of ways you can support Catholic education. The most important way to support Catholic schools is through prayer, but your Time, Talent, and Treasure are also of great benefit. I’m sure there are at least 101 more ways to support Catholic schools. Leave your ideas in the comment area. And Happy Catholic Schools Week!
Prayer
- Attend a school Mass.
- Start a Catholic school parent prayer group.
- Say a Rosary for Catholic schools.
- Pray for all Catholic school students.
- Pray for Catholic school teachers around the world.
- Pray for principals and vice principals.
- Pray for secretaries, custodians, and all support staff.
- Pray for pastors with parish schools.
- Pray for Catholic school parents, that the sacrifices they make for their children bear fruit.
- Pray for diocesan secretaries of education.
- Pray for bishops, that they find creative and successful ways to strengthen Catholic schools in their dioceses.
- Pray a novena to St. Elizabeth Ann Seton for the success of Catholic education.
- Visit the Blessed Sacrament for Catholic schools.
- Light a candle for Catholic schools.
- Offer a Mass intention for Catholic schools.
- Start with Kindergarten, and each day pray for a different grade level at your local Catholic school.
- Get a class list or yearbook and each day hold up a different student in prayer.
- Pray for a different teacher each day.
- Attend a school’s Stations of the Cross service.
- Bless your child’s school supplies the night before the new school year starts.
- Pray for all students who might have a test today.
- Pray for the financial stability of Catholic schools.
- Pray for students with special needs, that the Catholic schools in their area have the financial resources to meet their needs.
- Pray that the Holy Spirit guide parents, teachers, and administrators to work in unity to build up the Kingdom of God in the school community.
- Pray that Catholic schools be available for anyone that wishes to attend, regardless of economic background.
- Pray that Catholic schools continue to help students recognize their vocation.
Time
- Join or launch a local organization like the Nazareth Guild or the Fulcrum Foundation to raise and distribute funds to support Catholic schools.
- Join the ACE Advocates.
- Volunteer in the classroom.
- Attend a local Catholic school Christmas Program.
- Volunteer in the school cafeteria.
- Drive students on field trips.
- Make treats for class parties.
- Volunteer for a school fundraiser.
- Write a thank you letter to a Catholic school teacher, administrator, or staff member.
- Organize an appreciation luncheon for the staff.
- Make a positive comment on a Catholic school’s Facebook page.
- Chaperone a school dance.
- Help out at the school picnic.
- Serve on a school committee.
- Volunteer to read a story to a class.
- Be a room mom or dad.
- Help teachers by laminating or photocopying.
- Help out in the lunch room.
- Help out on the playground.
- Volunteer to build and paint sets for the school musical.
- Offer to do simple maintenance in the summer.
- Help give classrooms a new coat of paint.
- Give young children practice reading aloud by volunteering to listen to them read.
- Volunteer in the school library.
- Tutor students after school.
- Be a buddy family for a family that is new to the school.
Talent
- Make a career change: become a Catholic school teacher.
- Be a guest speaker/teacher.
- Play the piano for school liturgies.
- Offer to have a class visit your place of employment as a field trip.
- Write a grant proposal.
- Artists: Offer to teach an art lesson.
- Athletes: Volunteer to coach a Catholic school sports team.
- Business Owners: Donate a product or gift certificate to the school’s auction.
- Computer techs: Help maintain the school’s computer infrastructure.
- Dermatologists: Give the junior high students a lesson on skin care.
- Doctors: Offer free sports physicals once a year.
- Electricians: Check to see if the school needs an electrical upgrade to handle more computers.
- Event Planners: Lend expertise to the Development Director.
- Farmers: Bring a class out to the farm on an agricultural field trip.
- Foreign language speakers: Translate school documents or volunteer to be an interpreter for students whose second language is English.
- Gardeners: Help the school create a Mary garden.
- Graphic designers: Help with school branding and logos.
- Musicians: Hold a benefit concert for the local Catholic school.
- Nurses: Volunteer to help with hearing and vision screening.
- Painters: Create and paint a mural for the side of the school building.
- Photographers: Take pictures of school events for promotional materials.
- Software Engineers: Design a mobile app for a Catholic school.
- University Professors: Give an inservice to the school faculty.
- Web designers: Offer to design/maintain the school webpage.
- Writers: Present a writer’s workshop to students.
Treasure
- Donate to the school’s annual giving campaign.
- Go wild at the school auction!
- Adopt a student and pay his or her tuition for the year.
- Give an unrestricted donation.
- Find out if your company matches donations and donate.
- Purchase an item from a teacher’s classroom wish list.
- Donate a computer.
- Bring in a latte or coffee for the school secretary.
- Provide financial support so a teacher can attend the NCEA convention.
- Donate books to the classroom or school library.
- Buy new uniforms for one of the school’s sports teams.
- Purchase religious statues for classrooms.
- Help defray the cost of a school field trip.
- Buy new software for school computers.
- Donate a printer, TV, or dvd player.
- Buy magazines, candy, or whatever else the students sell as fundraisers.
- Support the school’s scrip program.
- Help the school purchase a new set of textbooks.
- Donate stock from your investment portfolio.
- Offer to pay for consumable workbooks for students.
- Purchase a document camera or interactive white board for the classroom.
- Offer to purchase Bibles for each student.
- Help the school purchase an electronic tablet for each student.
- Include a bequest to a Catholic school in your will.
A Teacher’s Prayer
As the prospect of my ordination to the diaconate draws ever closer (9-10 months away, God willing!), I am becoming more sensitive to articles and videos having to do with service. The following video expresses beautifully what it means to be a true servant. It would make a powerful statement during a service retreat with your students, or even as a way to begin a lesson on what it means to be a disciple of Christ.
A while back I wrote 