Principal Patrick Browne does more than the school community sees on a day-to-day basis. He also loves to volunteer and work with the homeless as he does every Saturday night from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.

Browne has been volunteering his Saturday nights at St. John’s Homeless Shelter since November of 2018. He heard about this opportunity through his wife who works at the Micah Center, a partner of St. John’s.

He decided that he wanted to be a part of this service outreach because he saw how good such work made his wife feel.

“When they said they needed someone to work one day a week, I thought that is a good way of balancing it and decided that I would apply,” Browne recounted.

During these nights he washes the clothes of the clients that come in, restocks towels, helps get food and water, charges their cellphones and does numerous other things to help their well being.

He is considered to be the support person during his shifts, and he works alongside a security person and a coordinator.

This work makes Browne feel great and helps him feel like he has a great balance between his life at school and bringing in an element of social justice. He tries to make sure he is doing as much to help the community as he can.

“I really feel that I am fulfilling my Christian responsibility to help others and I am very blessed to be able to do something that makes a difference,” said the principal.

He feels that through this program he meets many good people who have gone through more difficult circumstances than others, that these are people who need others to care for them.

“They are a lot like you and me, they are good and were made by God, and I think that is is really a blessing to be able to help them,” he recounted.

Browne feels that serving at St. John’s allows him to enter a whole different world than at NDA. There he holds less responsibility and enjoys a respite from all of the responsibilities he holds at school. He feels that he can just help people when he is there without worrying about the rest.