During Catholic Schools Week (January 30-February 5), St. Joseph Catholic School students hosted a fundraiser for the Pregnancy Help Center. All of the planning and promotion efforts were planned and executed by St. Joseph School students with the 8th-grade classroom taking the lead on the efforts.  The students set a goal of raising $1,000 and 1,000 items (diapers, wipes, baby onesies, other supplies, etc) by the end of Catholic Schools Week.

These acts of service are a central mission of the school and each year during Catholic Schools Week a service activity is planned. Since 1974, National Catholic Schools Week is an annual celebration of Catholic education in the United States. It starts the last Sunday in January and runs all week, which in 2022 is January 30 – February 5. The theme for National Catholic Schools Week 2022 is “Catholic Schools: Faith. Excellence. Service.” St. Joseph School observed the annual celebration week with Mass with the Bishop, a Preschool and Kindergarten Open House, a Pancake Breakfast, dress-up days, fun activities, and community events.

Mrs. Christie Nielsen, Middle School Mathematics Teacher, assisted the 8th-grade class in coming up with a plan to promote the drive for the Pregnancy Help Center beginning with pulpit announcements and fliers at St. Joseph Church weekend Masses. Students also promoted the drive daily in the school by sharing the daily totals of fundraised items and dollars by class. Rice Krispy treats were offered each day to the classroom that brought in the most donations.

The 8th-grade class and the students of St. Joseph were pleased by the response from the community. By Thursday afternoon, February 3, they had met their $1,000 goal. Friday was another incredible day as the donations continued to pour in. They finished the week with a grand total of $1,791.68.

In addition, the students had a goal of collecting 1,000 items to give to the women who enter the doors of the Center. They didn’t quite meet their goal; however, they finished their donation count at 694 items. The 8th-grade classroom generated the highest number of items and monetary donations in the classroom competition. In the spirit of generosity, the 8th-grade class made the decision to share the class prize, which was root beer floats, with the 2^nd place classes, 3^rd, and 6th-grade classrooms.

St. Joseph Catholic School has been serving its families for 131 years and its mission is to develop youth in grade PreK3-Grade 8 to grow in faith, value family, excel in academics, and follow Christ in service to others within the framework of the Catholic Faith.