St. Raymond students help the Bronx
School participates in several service projects throughout the borough
BY ALEX MITCHELL
Students from one Bronx
Catholic school have taken on
a mission to be the borough’s
helpful hands through community
service and support
this fall — all while juggling
an academic semester during
a pandemic.
Since September, these
adolescents from St. Raymond
High School for Boys
have been virtually tutoring
elementary school students,
planting trees and cleaning
up parks across the Bronx.
Most recently, the students led
a massive Thanksgiving food
drive for those less fortunate,
an act that vice principal Damian
Carparelli called “working
hard for a greater good.”
It is that work ethic which
the VP intends on having his
students retain as they go
about their growing lives as
young adults, saying “my job
is to teach them there is more
to do here than go to school
and then go home.”
So far, he has bestowed
such a charitable virtue in
many students who have
been participating in fi ve recent
service trips, which included
planting trees in Van
Cortlandt Park, raking leaves
at Pelham Bay Park and
cleaning up Orchard Beach
all while social distancing
and disinfecting.
Up to $1,200 per year to buy
OTC products, plus $360
per year for healthy foods
Get credits to buy hundreds of over-the-counter (OTC) health products, plus more credits to buy healthy food.
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While out in Van Cortlandt
Park, Carparelli recalled
that locals said the St.
Raymond students have been
the only outreach seen in that
area since the pandemic began,
which the vice principal
called “very rewarding.”
Those acts come in addition
to creating a virtual tutoring
channel for nearby elementary
school students, who
used to be helped in person before
COVID-19 reared its ugly
head. The student also participated
in a Thanksgiving
canned food drive, which has
grown exponentially since
its inception.
Carparelli explained that
what began as a 300 can donation
skyrocketed to a collection
of over 11,000 and then
15,000 in November alone,
thanks to “all hands on deck”
help from both students and
faculty at the school.
“It really started to spiral,”
he said, adding that these kind
of contributions are “where
the character lies” and encouraged
students, faculty
and even parents to act as role
models toward one another.
Following Thanksgiving,
St. Raymond High School will
also be holding a Christmas
toy drive in partnership with
the 161st Street Merchants Association
in the south Bronx.
To become involved in that
or any of the school’s community
outreach, call 718-824-
5050 or visit their website.
Students from St. Raymond High School have performed acts of service throughout public spaces in the Bronx
this semester. Photos courtesy of Saint Raymond High School
/NY