Notre Dame Academy is offering students the opportunity to help clean at St. John’s Homeless Shelter one Saturday a month from November to April.

St. John’s is a “last resort” shelter for men and women who have no other housing options available to them. It is part of St. John’s Ministries and is located at 411 St John Street.

“It is important to remember that people who live in shelters or in poverty are truly just like us,” said Kelly Waters, NDA’s campus minister. 

“Any one of us could be one step away from needing help in this form,” she added, and “hearing their stories is incredibly humbling and grows our empathy and compassion.”

Students who want to participate need to sign up in the “Signupgenius,” and their parents need to submit a permission form on Magnus.

When they volunteer, the shelter is empty. Students clean the kitchen and shared living space, sweep and mop the rooms, and do any other needed cleaning.

“We always have something to give, even when we think we don’t. Living out our Gospel call to help others through Christ is never a bad idea, and helping people is always a good thing,” said Waters.

She thinks that this opportunity is also great because “making sure people have a clean place to go to at night is a small thing we can do for them, but it has a huge impact on their lives.”