Outreach and Community Service

St. Anne’s middle schoolers participate weekly in programs developed to help others while expanding their knowledge of the community to which they belong.  Sixth-grade students travel to a local church every seven days where they work and interact with elderly folks.  They share their schoolwork, learn about the early life experiences of their elder partners, and generally get to know one-another.  It is an enriching exchange for both groups.

Seventh graders spend two hours, 11 to 1 p.m., every Thursday serving lunch to, on average, 200 homeless and in-need members of the Denver community.  Students serve the lunch, wipe and store the chairs and tables, and sweep and mop the assembly hall at the Trinity Methodist Church. Also, seventh graders participate in an event we call Denver Day.  Denver Day is a day of outreach spearheaded by the 7th grade advising team.  With the guidance of their advisors, students petition local supermarkets, grocers, and food producers for pledges of donations.  They then take the donated goods to make lunches which they take downtown to the Denver Rescue Mission, a non-profit organization whose mission is to help those looking to transition to a stable lifestyle.  After handing out lunches, students spend the afternoon working in Denver’s Urban Garden, an organization that provides opportunities for participants to supplement their diet with produce grown in nearby public gardens.

In eighth grade, students travel once every 6 days to local elementary schools or the Joshua School. The Joshua school is dedicated to helping and educating children with Autism and other development disabilities.  Eighth-grade students work in classrooms assisting lead teachers with tutoring children one-on-one and in small groups.

Along with regular service in the community, students in the middle school raise money for various organizations throughout the school year via bake sales and other student-initiated events.