Rummel students participate in Feb. 1 service day

    Over 800 students, faculty and staff, 21 buses and 22 service partners comprised the 2013 Raider Pride Service Day at Archbishop Rummel High School on Feb. 1.  
    After a prayer service led by Father Kurt Young, class of 2005, in the Raider Gym, the Raider Nation dispersed throughout the Greater New Orleans Area serving the community at elementary schools, Head Start schools, adult day care centers, food banks and special need centers.
    Established in 2010, the Raider Pride Service Day connects the teachings of the Lasallian hallmarks of faith, community and service to those of the school’s namesake, Archbishop Joseph Francis Rummel. The event was created and continues to be organized by Archbishop Rummel’s long-time service director Mark Firmin.
    “There are many things that I am proud of at Archbishop Rummel, but Raider Pride Day is the greatest because we are able to go out and help so many people in honor of the Lasallian tradition and Archbishop Joseph Francis Rummel,” Firmin said.
    Freshman Colby Brunet visited Ella Dolhonde Elementary School in Metairie.
    “Partnering with the pre-kindergarten students was really a lot of fun,” Brunet said. “We read them books, did worksheets together and went to recess with them.”
    Some of the major service partners visited in 2013 included Second Harvest Food Bank in Elmwood, St. Michael School, Magnolia School, Jefferson Adult Day Care, Patrick F. Taylor Hope Lodge and numerous Catholic and public elementary school programs.  
    Joel Neill, Rummel class of 2003 graduate and a current Spanish teacher, visited St. Michael Special School in New Orleans with his homeroom students.
     “This service experience opens our student’s eyes to other family situations,” Neill said. “It was great to see our students interacting and assisting the genuinely honest St. Michael students.  In many ways our students get just as much out of the service day as the people we are serving.”
    Hunter Songy is a senior at Archbishop Rummel High School in Metairie.