Andover Students Give Back As School Year Begins
ANDOVER (CBS) - Going beyond the 3 "Rs" as the school year begins. Students at an Andover school spend the day helping out and making a difference. It was a day to give back at the St. Augustine School, and a way to teach the Golden Rule.
They call it the Auggies Give Back Day as about 400 students from the St. Augustine Catholic School do unto others.
Some of the kids washed food donation crates, while other sorted food at Neighbors in Need. The warehouse supplies 13 food pantries in the Greater Lawrence area.
"I feel awesome because we're doing this for other people," said 4th grader Ana Belkus. "It feels like I'm doing the right thing," added 9-year-old McKenzie Davis.
Other students respectfully tended to gravestones at a nearby cemetery, scraping off moss and dirt.
This is the second year the Andover nursery to grade 8 school has organized the service day. The kids helped out at about a dozen local non-profits.
"I'm proud that our school gets to do it," said student Brooke Calareso.
"We need to help other people, and not just think about ourselves," added classmate Matthew Enman.
"I feel like it's a really great idea, and people should be doing this a lot more," says 4th grader Liam O'Neill.
There's a quote attributed to St. Augustine that sums up the goal of the day. He wrote: "What does love look like? It has hands to help others. It has the feet to hasten to the poor and needy. It has the eyes to see misery and want. It has the ears to hear the sighs and sorrows of men. That is what love looks like."
The service day was organized by St. Augustine teacher Kasey Calabro. "These are the experiences they're going to remember and hopefully instill in them a love of philanthropy and giving back," she said.
The school plans to make the Auggies Give Back Day an annual event.