St. Joseph School Gives Back to Local Causes during Catholic Schools Week
February 12, 2024 – Written by Emily Hagen, Dir of Marketing and Advancement
St. Joseph Catholic School, like more than 6,000 Catholic Schools across the United States, celebrates Catholic Schools Week every year. This tradition, which has been going on for 50 years, runs during the last week of January. The theme for National Catholic Schools Week this year was “Catholic Schools: United in Faith and Community.”
During Catholic Schools Week, St. Joseph Catholic School organizes various events for its students, teachers, and families. The school hosts a Preview Night for prospective families, and new family enrollment for the coming school year is also kicked off during this week. Students enjoy many activities such as daily quiz bowl events, fan night (with free popcorn) at the girls’ basketball game, interdisciplinary activities, the Knights of Columbus Free Throw Contest, and a delicious pancake breakfast, which supports the school after Sunday’s Mass at St. Joseph.
One of the most important activities during Catholic Schools Week is 100% driven by the students. Every year, the 8th-grade class, led by teacher Mrs. Christie Nielsen, organizes a school-wide fundraiser to support a local cause. In previous years, students have fundraised for causes such as the Pregnancy Help Center (2022 + 2023; Fundraised $2,000 and over 1,000 items), Soles for Souls (2021; Donated over 1,000 shoes), Food for the Poor (2020; Fundraised $7,500 to build a house in Guatemala). This year, Mrs. Nielsen wanted to support something that would connect the school to its four parishes (Holy Trinity, St. Joseph, St. John the Evangelist, and Our Lady of Lourdes). Therefore, the class chose to support Fr. Dennis Mullen’s Adoption Initiative, a non-profit created by Fr. Dennis Mullen, a retired priest in the Rice Lake area. The mission of the Adoption Initiative is quite simple; “Every child deserves a very good dad and mom. The Goal of Fr. Mullen’s Adoption Initiative is to help parents with the expenses of adoption.” The students set out on a mission to raise $2,000 during Catholic Schools Week. If they met that goal, the 8th-grade class agreed to donate $1,000 from their class trip funds (raised at the 2023 Craft Fair) towards the cause.
The students led the entire fundraising process, starting by creating posters to share around the school, as well as visiting each classroom to share the mission and goals of the fundraiser. The students also came up with incentives, such as a class pizza party, for the classroom that raised the most funds for the cause. They also hosted a bake sale during the lunch hour, inviting students to bring in cash to purchase treats the 8th graders had made, which then went towards the Adoption Initiative. They even came up with an idea to invite students to purchase tickets for $1, to be placed in a drawing to decide the fate of Mr. Van Dyke, the school principal. Some of Mr. Van Dyke’s fates were wearing pajamas for a day, singing a song, wearing a wig for a day, or being covered in silly string at an all-school assembly.
When Father Adam Laski, the Pastor of the Four Parishes, heard of the challenge, he decided to encourage the students to double their $3,000 goal. Fr. Adam agreed to shave his head and beard if the students could raise $6,000 towards the Adoption Initiative. By the middle of the week, the students had surpassed their $2,000 goal with a total of $3,500. By the end of the week, they had raised nearly $5,000. The students worked together to do one last appeal at the St. Joseph Mass on Sunday, which pushed them over their goal to a final total of $6,214.76.
At an all-school assembly the following week, Father Adam lost his bet, and with the help of Associate Pastor, Father Isaiah Schick, Father Adam had his head and beard shaved. The students were in an exciting uproar during the assembly. (Pictured left)
Allowing the students to lead community-wide fundraisers builds strong leadership, character, virtue, and confidence. It provides an experience for the students to believe in the impossible and then achieve it. As we reflect each year on the gift of Catholic education, we can’t help but feel a sense of pride and gratitude for the support of our community toward our students, families, and teachers. Thank you to all of our supporters who contributed to this cause.
Congratulations to the students of St. Joseph School for raising over $6,000 towards the Fr. Mullen’s Adoption Initiative! Your teachers, parents, and greater community are very proud of you!
Pictured below: SJS 8th Grade Class with Father Adam Laski.
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