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During the Christmas season especially, one of the three pillars in our Mount de Sales mission carries the most weight for a Cavalier. 

Motivated to Serve

 

You feel that desire and witness it in action amongst students and peers on campus. Service takes on many forms and is given warmly in varying degrees. From the communal effort of providing school supplies to our fellow neighbors in the Love for Louisiana campaign to the simplest act of holding the door open for a stranger, Cavaliers answer the call.

“For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

Galatians 5:13-14

Members of our faculty shared insight on why service is so important to Mount de Sales and how they’ve seen it change our students and faculty.

 

Kim Andrews, Campus Ministry, Theology, and Social Studies

“Through service, our students are able to open their hearts to our community; it allows them to make real connections both with those they serve and their classmates. Service is transformative, opening their eyes to the many ways that they can truly make a difference. The activities that our students participate in allow them to carry out the legacy of Mercy, and in doing so they become the hands and feet of Jesus, helping our neighbors as He would have us do. The lesson of serving others becomes, for many, a lifelong mission, instilling in their hearts a compelling desire to reach out and help those in need long after they leave campus.” 

 

Gabe Germann, Director of Campus Ministry and Theology

“Some of my favorite moments are when we are serving together. It’s so great to be working side by side with our students and with my fellow teachers. Students really come alive when they have a chance to focus on the presence and needs of other people, and they so often discover that those people (and their classmates) have so much to share with them. Doing service in the community really allows our students to experience it in a new way, opening their eyes to God’s presence in themselves, in their peers, and in the people they meet as they serve. It’s also really powerful for the teachers–I’ve had so many conversations with other teachers about how great it is to spend time with our students, especially those who surprise us as they rise to the challenge and reveal a usually hidden side of themselves as they engage people in the community. It’s good for us to be reminded that our students have so much to offer as well. ” 

We’re committed to supporting our Cavaliers in this noble purpose and equip them with the tools necessary to succeed. Both Mrs. Andrews and Dr. Germann led the charge on many of Mount de Sales’ campus-wide service projects, including one of our most recent. MDS’ annual Canned Food Drive for the St. Peter Claver food pantry collected 11,304 cans of food this November for hunger relief, the most MDS has collected to date. Work like this doesn’t just stem from students and faculty, but the parent volunteers too. We could not have reached the supply we did without the Cavalier community’s support of the cause. The effort of a community can make a huge positive impact and we each have something special to give. Within service, students learn as much about their own capabilities as those in need and carry to their next chapter a motivation to serve. 

 

Mount de Sales Academy is a private Catholic school located in Macon, GA, and serves students in Bibb, Houston, Jones, Monroe, Peach and other surrounding counties. MDS is sponsored and inspired by the Sisters of Mercy. Since 1876, MDS has served a diverse college-preparatory community of learners—students and teachers alike—who are poised to discover, challenged to innovate, and motivated to serve.