By Catherine Lee
Wearing disposable gloves, Storee Denson struggled to open a thin plastic bag at a food-bagging table outside Catholic Charities’ G Street headquarters. Looking up, Denson realized he had to pick up the pace so he and his fellow Bishop McNamara High School students wouldn’t fall behind as they filled bags with containers of steak, potatoes and rolls for people waiting for food.
Looking back on that afternoon in November 2023, Denson laughs about the gloves and bags — all part of the experience of volunteering with Catholic Charities’ St. Maria’s Meals, which provides hot food to those who are unhoused or experiencing food insecurity.
Now a sophomore at Bishop McNamara, Denson reflects on the benefits of service for high school students.
“I think it’s important to volunteer because it gives you a larger view of the world,” he says. “Seeing the challenges that some people face helps you develop a sense of compassion and understanding. You’re showing Christ’s love and light through action.”
When high schoolers have a positive experience with an organization like Catholic Charities, it can transform their hearts and help them see that service can become a lifetime habit.”
Catherine Albornoz
Head of Mission and Ministry at Connelly School of the Holy Child
Denson is among hundreds of Catholic high school students who volunteer annually with the agency. The number of high school volunteers has increased substantially because of the agency’s enhanced efforts to provide more service opportunities for students.
Maggie O’Neill, Catholic Charities’ director of volunteer engagement, met online over the summer with service coordinator from several schools to work out detail of the students’ involvement in the agency’s programs.
This year, several Catholic high schools have committed to having their students volunteer on a regular basis. For instance, students from Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart are volunteering with the agency’s SHARE Food Network, Community Options and Harriet Tubman Women’s Shelter, among other programs. Students from St. Anselm’s Abbey School are serving at Catholic Charities’ Child Development Center on Tuesday mornings. DeMatha Catholic High School students are volunteering at SHARE and 801 East Men’s Shelter.
The increase in the number of student volunteers comes at a time when the agency is encouraging young adults to engage with its programs. Support for the agency often starts with service. Catherine Albornoz, head of mission and ministry at Connelly School of the Holy Child, says, “When high schoolers have a positive experience with an organization like Catholic Charities, it can transform their hearts and help them see that service can become a lifetime habit.”
Catholic Charities’ push to strengthen its ties with Catholic high schools grew out of Jim Malloy’s appointment as president and CEO. Eager to get to know the Catholic Charities community, Malloy started meeting with donors, corporate sponsors, and high school principals and presidents. When the heads of schools told Malloy they were looking for more service opportunities for their students, he invited O’Neill to join him on the visits.
As a follow-up to the visits, Catholic Charities hosted its first-ever service summit — a gathering at Georgetown Preparatory School last February attended by student leaders and service coordinators from 17 schools.
At the summit, O’Neill talked with the service coordinators about volunteer opportunities that could be scheduled and repeated on regular basis throughout the school year. The summit gave student leaders the chance to learn about the breadth of Catholic Charities’ work, from food distribution programs like St. Maria’s Meals to the services of the Newcomer Network for newly arrived immigrants to the Harriet Tubman Women’s Shelter in Southeast D.C., which provides food, lodging and case management services for women 18 and older.
The students mingled and talked with their peers at other schools about their mutual interest in service.
“I think it was empowering for the students to see that there’s a seat in the boat and an oar for them to pull on, too,” says O’Neill.
Summit on Service
Carly Dougherty, a senior at Holy Child who attended the summit, describes Catholic Charities “as a gateway into a realm where there are so many different ways to serve.” At the summit, she learned new ways to encourage other students to serve. The volunteer work she’s done with Catholic Charities has bolstered her aspiration to become a doctor.
Last June, 10 students from six different high schools spent a week learning about the agency’s mission, touring Catholic Charities locations, and volunteering at the sites as part of a special summer service program. They were joined by three other students participating in a summerlong Catholic Charities program for high school students from D.C.’s Wards 7 and 8 who are interested in becoming social workers.
“Eventually, I’d like the program to be so robust that every Catholic high school student has ha at least one experience of service with Catholic Charities before they graduate,” says O’Neill. “Everyone has the desire to help. Sometimes you just need to pave the way and beckon them in.”
- 287 high school and middle school students volunteered during the 2023-24 school year.
- 500 students from 10 area Catholic high schools are expected to volunteer during the 2024-2025 school year.