Service Hours
-
Helpful Links
-
Service Hours Contact
-
Mary Gergelymgergelyhackettcp.orgTheology
-
-
The Reason Why We Serve
We love because He first loved us (1 John 4:19). By the grace of the Holy Spirit, we seek to share the love of God with our neighbor loving as Christ has loved us. Through opportunities to serve, we hope to conform our lives ever more to Christ, deepening our moral virtue, so that we may live as children of the Father. While we do not serve for the purpose of self-gain, in responding freely to God's invitation to love, the fruit of our charitable work is indeed joy and a deeper spiritual maturity as we aim to be the men and women that God has called us to be. In the words of the prayer of St. Francis of Assisi, "it is in giving that we receive".
Be Who God Meant For You To Be, And You Will Set The World On Fire!
-St. Catherine of Siena -
Service Opportunity Standards
Opportunities to serve should be those which reflect a true motivation of the heart to conform our lives to Christ, becoming gift to one another. As St. John Paul II shared, "Man cannot fully find himself, except through a sincere gift of himself". True Christian service provides us the opportunity to live in accord with our dignity, being made in the Image and likeness of God. It is in reflecting this sincere gift of self as revealed between the Father and the Son, that we can come to better share in the Holy love of God and experience the fruit of joy that can only be born of charity. Our goal in establishing service opportunity requirements is to provide the students with a dedicated time to allow for a deeper Catholic spiritual formation and encounter with the Living Christ. Students are encouraged to go above and beyond the minimum requirements for graduation recalling the words of Matthew 25:41, “Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me."
A total of 20 hours per year (10 per semester) are required for each year that a student attends Hackett Catholic Prep. In order to qualify as “service opportunity hours” the student may not have received payment or school credit for the service provided. These hours are considered additional to any service required by other student or extracurricular organizations such as the National Honor Society.
-
How to Submit Service HoursService Hours/Parent Guardian Verification
Students will submit their Service Opportunity Hours by way of an essay, along with a signed verification form by the student’s parent or guardian, to their theology teacher toward the end of each year. Essay instructions and the verification form will be provided by the student’s theology teacher. Students who have questions regarding service are encouraged to visit with the Campus Minister.
-
Service Opportunities
Each year in April the Hackett students and staff head out to serve the greater Kalamazoo area community for a half day and then come back to celebrate with a cookout lunch. Places we have served at include local Catholic parishes, the Gospel Mission, Loaves and Fishes, Catholic Charities, Bronson Hospital, Sisters of St. Joseph, Portage Community Outreach, Kalamazoo Deacon’s Conference, and Mount Olivet Cemetery.
serv-a-thonSummer Service Opportunities
Summer is a great time to serve when many families have a more flexible schedule. There are opportunities to serve at annual summer events, serve at a migrant camp, be a part of a local VBS week, and many others that are not listed. -
Approved Service Organizations (Non-Profit):
The following organizations qualify as approved organizations for purposes of the required service opportunity hours. While we encourage you to be open to new opportunities to serve, hours that support organizations or functions that do not share the social values of the Catholic Church will not be approved.
A list of pre-approved organizations is provided below. If there is an organization that you are volunteering at which is not listed and you would like those hours considered for your Hackett required service opportunity hours, please complete a Service Organization Appeal form which may be obtained from the Campus Minister. Inspired by the principle of subsidiarity as articulated by the Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 1883, we seek to contribute to the common good first locally yet while acknowledging that as our virtue of charity grows deeper and richer, the vaster our gift of understanding of community grows beyond even our local boundaries.- Opportunities through any of the Kalamazoo Diocesan Catholic Parishes (St. Monica's, St. Augustine's, St. Catherine of Siena, etc.)
- Kalamazoo Right to Life
- Catholic Charities of Kalamazoo (including the Caring Network and Bread of Life Distribution)
- St. Vincent de Paul
- Knights of Columbus
- Altar Serving
- Alternatives of Kalamazoo
- Kalamazoo Gospel Mission
- Loaves and Fishes
- Kalamazoo Deacon's Conference
- St. Catherine of Sienna’s Vacation Bible School (VBS)
- Parish Grounds/Church work within the Diocese
- Religious Education Assistant with the Diocese
- Loaves and Fishes
- Meals on Wheels
- Cheff Therapeutic Riding Center
- S.P.C.A.