March 27, 2006 – Toledo, OH – Catholic Schools across The Diocese of Toledo are working on various projects this Lenten season including the support of the Catholic Youth and Schools Services (CYSS) Lenten Project 2006. Each year the CYSS office promotes a specific cause that works to help those most in need and then encourages the students to contribute their time, prayer and donations to that cause. This year’s donations will go to help Tiffin Franciscan Sister Margaret Slowick working at a mission in Cuernavaca, Mexico. Sister Slowick works with an organization called VAMOS that offers services such as providing healthy meals and vitamins for children, tutoring, supporting the elderly, helping to create small businesses, and providing medical care to this impoverished town.

In addition to supporting the Lenten Project, Catholic schools in the Diocese are also supporting other causes and observing the season of Lent in various ways:

Immaculate Conception – Port Clinton – The students at Immaculate Conception have been contributing to the Hurricane Katrina relief efforts all year and have decided to continue to do so through their Lenten journey. Former Immaculate Conception Principal Sister Mary Jo Mike is now the principal at Blessed Virgin Mary School in Biloxi, Mississippi and the students in Port Clinton have sent 30 boxes of new and gently used clothes, books and toys to Biloxi. The students have also collected $1,800 that was sent to Blessed Virgin Mary school, the Diocese of Pensacola Katrina Relief Fund, and Navy Seabee families with newborns. The children will continue to collect monetary donations to send to their friends at Blessed Virgin Mary school and will also continue a letter writing program they’ve started with the students in Biloxi.

St. Anthony of Padua – Columbus Grove – Students at St. Anthony are collecting money to send to Cuernavaca by using wishing wells outside each classroom to collect their donations. Each week the eighth grade class collects the money and gives each classroom their total for the week. The total amount of all the classrooms will be tallied at the end of Lent and the money will be sent to support Sr. Slowick in Mexico.
 
St. Patrick’s of Heatherdowns – Toledo – In collaboration with their efforts during Catholic Schools Week, students at St. Patrick’s will continue to collect donations for alumni Dr. Richard Paat who has conducted over 23 medical missions to the underserved throughout the world. Students will collect donation at all of their weekend liturgies during Lent and send the proceeds to help Dr. Paat’s mission.

Notre Dame Academy – Toledo – In conjunction with Operation Rice Bowl, students at Notre Dame will collect donations throughout Lent to serve Catholic Relief services. They will also be holding a 24 hour food fast from March 24-25 and will conduct a canned food drive to benefit the Salvation Army a the end of March. Donations will also be collected to support the school’s Easter Week service trip to Appalachia.

St. Joseph – Sylvania – In order to raise money for Sr. Slowick’s mission in Cuernavaca, students are working with the art teachers to produce one art project from each grade level that will be raffled off in April. Art projects will range from reproductions of famous works of art to bead mosaics. Tickets for the raffle will be sold between April 3 and April 12th. The winner will be announced on April 13th.

St. Peter’s – Mansfield – For the past several years, students at St. Peter’s have donated money to St. Michel Archangel Parish in Coq Chante in Haiti, to help in providing a lunch program and teachers’ salaries. This year students will use a Starfish Collection box for donations during Lent. Families are encouraged to “do without” something and give the money saved to the Starfish Collection. This year’s collection will also go toward funding tailoring equipment for a vocational school that is just beginning.

St. Aloysius – Bowling Green – St. Aloysius school has themed their Lenten project “Read to Feed”. Students will collect donations to benefit Heifer International. The organization provides animals to people in impoverished countries and then helps to educate the people about sustainable living and the resources their new animal, such as an ox, a cow, or a goat, can provide for them. Students will collect signatures from those willing to sponsor them as they read their way through Lent. All of the donations from the sponsors will be collected during Holy Week and each class will decide which animal they’d like to buy from Heifer to help those in need.

Lial School– Whitehouse – For their Lenten project, Lial is providing eight local families with an Easter meal, pantry and toiletry items and Easter baskets. Any monetary donations received will be converted to gift cards and added to this Easter treat. The needy families are selected through Central City Ministries and each classroom is sponsoring one of these eight families. The Middle School students will deliver the items on Wednesday, April 12.

All Saints – Rossford – Students at All Saints will be collecting money throughout the Lenten season for the mission in Cuernavaca. Keeping with the Lenten fish theme of their parish, the amount collected by the students will be tabulated outside on a giant fish and each class will be tabulating their personal collections on wall display outside their classrooms. Students also helped to create a display on Mexico and have studied the region that Sister Margaret’s mission serves.

St. Joseph – Monroeville – To raise money for the Lenten project, Students at St. Joseph’s will conduct a bake sale after the 10:30am mass on April 2. Students and staff will also test their luck with a dime drop throughout Lent. Donations will also be collected for Operation Starfish and the Holy Childhood Association.