Episcopal Identity

On Maundy Thursday, our early childhood through middle school students participate in a day of service to benefit area service organizations. Each year, service activities vary based upon the planning of our faculty and students. In past years, middle school partnered with primary and kindergarten students to help guide them in making newspaper bundles used by Citizens for Animal Protection (CAP) to line the bottom of animal cages. Middle school students also made catnip toys for the organization’s cats. CAP is a private, non-profit organization that provides shelter, adoption, foster care, rescue and other valuable services to animals in need in the Houston area. CAP also provides humane education and community outreach programs to encourage love and respect for all animals.

Lower school and middle school students worked on several other projects, such as, assembling hygiene bags with shampoo, conditioner, soap, toothpaste and brush, lotion, razor, etc., as well as lunch bags, for distribution to those in need at Lord of the Streets or Memorial Assistance Ministries (MAM). The work and mission of Lord of the Streets Episcopal Church and Community of the Streets Outreach is to minister to the spiritual, emotional, physical and social needs of individuals living in Houston who are homeless, in crisis or in transition. The purpose of Memorial Assistance Ministries is to help families and individuals who find themselves in temporary crisis and in need of assistance to maintain self-sufficiency and avoid homelessness.

Other projects included packaging rice and beans for distribution by Fairhaven Food Pantry, and making finger-knitted scarves and crib tags for babies born prematurely at Texas Children’s Hospital.

When natural disasters happen throughout the world, such as earthquakes and hurricanes, our students organize collections of money and items such as food and water for distribution to the relief organizations who serve the needs of the people affected by the disasters.

Two middle school organizations provide service to our Holy Spirit Episcopal ommunity throughout the year: National Junior Honor Society (NJHS) and Student Council. A sampling of this year's projects include the following. NJHS members recycle paper goods each Friday for the church and school. Student Council and NJHS partner to host a fall neighborhood food drive that benefits Fair Haven Food Pantry in November, and a Decembers Christmas party for the first graders at Spring Shadows Elementary School.  Valentine candy sales and a Car Wash in April are also scheduled with proceeds to be given to Texas Children's Hospital Pediatric Cancer Program and CAP (Citizens for Animal Protection).

All Middle School students are encouraged to provide at least 15 hours of community service throughout the year. All students who provide at least this number of service hours are recognized during an assembly or the Middle School Awards and Graduation Service at the end of the year. The awards are listed below.

Recognition for community service is given during a middle school assembly in late May to students who provide 15 to 49 hours of service. Two levels of community service provided at school and in the community-at-large receive Certificates of Merit.

Red ⇒ 15-29 hours

Blue ⇒ 30-49 hours

In addition, recognition for higher levels of community service is given to students at the end of the year during the Middle School Awards and Graduation Program. These include the awards listed below.

The President's Council on Service and Civic Participation created the President's Volunteer Service Award program as a way to thank and honor Americans who, by their demonstrated commitment and example, inspire others to engage in volunteer service. The President's Volunteer Service Award recognizes individuals, families, and groups that have achieved a certain standard — measured by the number of hours served over a 12-month period or cumulative hours earned over the course of a lifetime. Recipients of the award receive:

• An official President’s Volunteer Service Award lapel pin,
• A personalized certificate of achievement,
• A congratulatory letter from the President of the United States, and
• A letter from the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation.

For this award, community service hours are collected from May of the previous school year through April of the current school year. The levels of awards for children 14 years of age or younger are:

Bronze Award ⇒ 50-74 hours

Silver Award ⇒ 75-99 hours

Gold Award ⇒ 100 or more hours

The Jeral (Jerry) Thomas Eckles Community Service Award recognizes and honors an exceptional individual who is a servant leader that makes volunteerism and community service a way of life. The award winner is someone who makes selfless and extraordinary contributions for the betterment of the local community and beyond. Specifically, the winner is an individual who gives extraordinary community service and who:

• Gives freely and unselfishly of their time to community service;
• Inspires others to serve and acts as a role model;
• Has a positive impact upon the direction and success of community projects, programs or individuals; and
• Improves the lives of others.

Any student who has attended HSES for the entire school year is eligible to apply for this award. Applications are distributed during the month of April and completed applications are given to the Dean of Student Life no later than May 1. A faculty selection committee meets during the first week of May to select the recipient. The recipient receives a certificate of merit and has her/his name inscribed on the Jeral (Jerry) Thomas Eckles Community Service Award plaque.

The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards program recognizes middle school youth for volunteer work in their communities. To be eligible, a student must:

• Be in grades 5-8 as of October of the current school year,
• A legal resident of one of the 50 states or the District of Columbia,
• Engage in a volunteer activity that occurs at least in part after September of the previous school year, and
• Complete an application form following all directions carefully and submit it by October 31 of the current school year to the Middle School Dean of Student Life.

During the first week of November, a diverse selection committee comprised of people from within and without the Holy Spirit community selects the HSES recipient. The committee judges applications with the following criteria:

• Initiative—How much personal initiative was involved in the activity? Did the applicant initiate the activity on his/her own, or demonstrate exceptional leadership or motivation in an already organized activity?
• Effort—How much time and effort did the activity require? Did the applicant have to overcome significant obstacles?
• Impact—How much of a difference did the service activity make? Were a significant number of people affected, or were the lives of certain individuals impacted in a major way?
• Personal Growth—Did the applicant develop new insights or skills from the experience? Does the application reflect a sound understanding of the importance of serving others?

The HSES recipient receives a Certificate of Achievement from the organization and advances to state-level judging. One middle school student in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia is named State Honoree in February of the current school year and receives $1,000, a beautiful silver medallion and an all-expense-paid trip to Washington, D.C., with a parent or guardian, during the first week in May. The Washington trip includes gala award ceremonies, sight-seeing tours, Congressional visits on Capitol Hill and many other exciting events. Runner-up honorees at the state level receive bronze medallions or Certificates of Excellence.

While in Washington, ten middle school students are named America’s top youth volunteers of the year by a distinguished national selection committee. Each National Honoree receives an additional $5,000, a gold medallion and a beautiful crystal trophy for his or her school. National Honorees also receive $5,000 grants from The Prudential Foundation for nonprofit charitable organizations of their choice.

In addition to the awards, honorees and their projects receive extensive publicity in newspapers, magazines, on television and on the Internet. Some have appeared on such high-profile programs as Dateline NBC, Good Morning America, the Oprah Winfrey Show, and in Time and People magazines. Honorees also are frequently honored with letters of commendation from mayors, governors and members of Congress.

In the spring of 2006, our HSES local recipient, Anna DeSanctis, was selected as a State Honoree as well as one of the 10 National Honorees! Anna set out to raise $2,000 to sponsor and build a library at the orphanage in Hefei, China where she spent the first part of her life before being adopted by her mother, Ellen DeSanctis. Within 18 months, Anna raised more than $22,000, which she sent to two Chinese social welfare organizations to build and stock libraries at four orphanages. There was even enough left over to construct water wells in two remote villages. Never underestimate the impact an inspired middle school student can make in the lives of others!