Such were the sentiments expressed by Anthony D’Ambrosio and Jack Tobin, eighth grade students in Our Lady of Good Counsel School, Moorestown, after they participated in a service project in observance of Dr. Martin Luther King’s birthday on Jan. 17. 

“As a Catholic school and community, it is so important for the teachers, staff and students to provide for those who are less fortunate,” said Ali Kehl, the school’s seventh and eighth grade ILA teacher.

“Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday is a reminder to help those who need it and to donate goods to the less fortunate,” Kehl said. “I hope the students of Our Lady of Good Counsel School always remember to help those who need it and that it doesn’t matter if you help a little or a lot. When it comes to helping and being compassionate, a little goes a long way.”

Lessons Learned

Along with Our Lady of Good Counsel School, Trenton Catholic Preparatory Academy, Hamilton, and Our Lady of Mount Carmel School, Asbury Park, were other schools in the Diocese where students engaged in special lesson plans that focused on Dr. King’s life and tireless efforts to promote peace and justice among all people.

In Our Lady of Mount Carmel School, students in third and fourth grades held discussions on what they thought it would take to create a more peaceful nation. Their younger counterparts in the first and second grades reflected on what it means to treat others fairly and then did some artwork and colored a picture of Dr. King.

Students in Trenton Catholic Preparatory Academy remembered Dr. King during Morning Prayer as well as in their music class and other classroom projects.

After reading a story about King with his class, second grade student Darwing was happy to share that he learned that Dr. King “was a good man who wanted everyone to love one another. He didn't want people to tease each other because they are different.” 

His classmate, Constantina, admired Dr. King’s tenacity and how he continued to share his nonviolent message even when people “didn’t believe in him.”

Students in the fifth grade listened to Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream Speech” then created bumper stickers sharing their own “dreams.”

“The message on my bumper sticker is, ‘I have a dream that people will not hate,’” student Aaron said, noting that it’s his dream “that all people will be united.”

Aaron’s classmate, Daniel, created a bumper sticker that depicted a call to end racism, while another classmate, Danielle, focused on an end to hate.

While each student took away a different lesson from Dr. King’s speech, they all agreed that it was important to keep the legacy of Dr. King alive even more than 50 years after his death.

“Martin Luther King Jr. was a person that helped African Americans gain more rights. It is important to teach people about the things he did,” Constantine offered.

Teacher Jennifer Bevins was proud her class both understood the meaning of Dr. King’s message and were able to express those messages creatively.

“Martin Luther King Jr. called for us to become more aware of others and enact change in our world. We are called as followers of Christ to love our neighbor and to stand up when we see injustice,” Bevins said. “Learning about Martin Luther King Jr.'s actions provides us with an example of what one person willing to stand up for what they believe in can accomplish.”

This year’s Martin Luther King Day observance in Our Lady of Good Counsel School had students and faculty collaborate with the Moorestown St. Vincent de Paul conference. The students and teachers collected toiletries for persons in need including the local guests who are served by the Moorestown conference and local food pantries that are supported by the Moorestown Ministerium of area congregations. Items were also shared with the Medford St. Vincent de Paul conference for distribution to their local guests.

The students also received a visit from Dr. Linda Dix, Moorestown conference president and parishioner of Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish, who talked about the works of the St. Vincent de Paul Society and presented a history about St. Vincent de Paul, including how he founded the Daughters of Charity in the 1600s and their work among the poor and sick.  She also shared stories about two Daughters of Charity who went on to become saints – St. Catherine Laboure and St. Elizabeth Ann Seton.

Real Life Examples of Service

On a more local level, the OLGC students were enlightened to hear Dr. Dix tell about the three guests whom the Moorestown conference members provided assistance, including helping two women secure affordable housing. One woman has eight children and the other is currently homeless. The students were particularly heartened to hear about a child, whose primary language is Spanish, “read a sign that the SVDP could help with rent.”

The child, Dr. Dix said, “went home and called us for his mother whose primary language was Spanish, and we are helping them presently.”

Dr. Dix extended appreciation to the OLGC students for their toiletry and food donations, which netted two truckloads, and their willingness to make prayer cards that will be given to those in need along with the baskets of donated items.

“Guests many times are sad and downtrodden when they come to us,” she said. “They need a ‘hands up’ which comes through the food, toiletries, clothes, etc. but they are also in need of prayer. We always pray together with our guests,” she said. “To receive a prayer card from one of the students I know will mean the world to them. It is the difference between having a day that could be bleak and no different from the next and a day that is filled with a message from a child with a happy face or a bright picture that says, ‘I’m praying with you.’”

Dr. Dix reiterated Dr. King’s belief that in order to reconcile communities, hate must be overcome with love and that “days of service are real life ways we can put that love into practice.

“Service shared by all regardless of race or creed to help those in need is a primary way to live out his vision,” she said.