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Lakeland, FL School Pledges 2,800 Service Hours for Pope Benedict XVI

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March 20, 2008 - 5:06 PDT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MEDIA ADVISORY

SCHOOL CONTRIBUTES 2800 SERVICE HOURS

Lakeland, FL (MARCH 20, 2008) - Young people from St. Anthony Catholic School are preparing for the visit of Pope Benedict XVI to the U.S. by volunteering in the community in honor of his birthday on April 16. A total of 2800 hours of service are pledged by 140 students from the St. Anthony Catholic School to be completed by May 31.

This service project is part of a national effort by Catholic schools, colleges, parish religious education programs and seminaries called, "Birthday Blessings for Pope Benedict XVI: A Gift of Public Service from U.S. Catholic Youth and Students." To see the current tally, visit the "Birthday Blessings" Web site: http://ncea.catholic.org.

In late February, the National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA), a national organization representing Catholic education at all levels, issued the invitation to Catholic young people to do voluntary acts of service in honor of the pontiff's birthday. Pope Benedict will turn 81 on April 16, the second day of his six-day visit to the United States April 15-20.

The "Birthday Blessings" project allows each student to choose how to spend his or her time volunteering. Acts of service are broadly defined as anything that helps another person or improves the environment. Before engaging in the service, students were encouraged to pray a brief prayer, asking God to bless the pope. Some of the ways students at St. Anthony Catholic School volunteered were "going green" activities, such as cleaning up the environment, re-cycling, renewing, and re-using materials, and doing projects for veterans, seniors, and shut-ins to make their days brighter.

"Our students are eager to help the environment and excited by the opportunity to honor the pope," said Janet Peddecord, principal of St. Anthony Catholic School. "Service to the community is a core value of Catholic education and working together as a school family to accomplish this goal is exciting for everyone!"
###
For more information about this press release, contact Principal Janet Peddecord at 863.858.0671.

Contact

St Anthony Catholic Church
http://www.stanthonyparish.com
FL, US
Jessica Pote - Director of Parish Life, 863 858-8047

Keywords

Lakeland, FL, School, Service, Hours, Volunteer

Category

Catholic Schools & Religious Education

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