Sept. 13 was the school’s 101st birthday, but instead of receiving a gift, it dedicated its special day to giving to the community.

As is the annual tradition, more than 1,000 students, the entire student body other than several members of the varsity football team, loaded onto buses in order to serve more than 50 local charities and organizations throughout the metro area. 

The town of Brosna in the county of Kerry waited for the bus to take them to the Joseph Maley Foundation. “I can’t think of a better way to celebrate Cathedral’s birthday,” said senior Olivia DeLise.

As the town discussed the upcoming service with the Joseph Maley Foundation, freshman Charles Haas said, “They do so many different things.” Haas has worked with JMF before for about a year as a part of the JMF puppet troop. The troop strives to teach students in local schools about different disabilities and the value of all humans. 

Upon arriving at JMF headquarters, the town realized that the puppet troop Haas had mentioned early that morning was not the only form of service the organization provides. The JMF events range from golf outings to butterfly balls to presentations performed in local schools in order to raise money to best serve children of all abilities. 

While introducing the organization, the staff explained the importance of the service and what it meant to them. “Everything that you guys are doing now, is checking off a task that would keep us from helping a family or writing curriculum” said Ms. Liz Freisen, Joseph Maley family support manager and junior board coordinator.

The staff divided up students into various tasks which ranged from poster making to setting up the event space for an open mic night for the weekend of Sept. 14-15. 

At the end of the day, senior Gracie Carr said, “This was one of the best service days.”