Answering the call to help
Thousands of essential items were collected at the COVID-19 Support Drive held on May 20th at Belen Jesuit. Hundreds of members of the Belen family dropped off items at the main entrance of campus where faculty and staff received and sorted them into boxes.
“The week before the campus closed, we celebrated Ignatian Week,” said Teresita González,
Community Outreach Service Coordinator. “Our theme was ‘Faith that does justice, FOR AND WITH OTHERS.’ This drive reminds us to orient ourselves towards those who are most vulnerable to face this crisis as one global community.”
Our community partners play an integral role in helping us teach our students about the world and helping them grow in faith and service. They are also always incredibly welcoming to our student volunteers. As a result of the pandemic, they are serving more people than ever, and with the help of the Belen community, received much needed essential items.
“During these difficult times we must remember the essential workers that put food on our table. Many of the farmworkers do not have the transportation to access food distribution lines and missing work would mean a loss in wages for their families,” said Mónica Santos Lauzurique, Executive Director, The La Salle Educational Center. “Thanks to the generous support of Belen Jesuit, we will be able to prepare family baskets and deliver them directly to the homes of 300 families.”
All donations were delivered to the following organizations: Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Miami (for their food pantry distribution), Camillus House, La Salle Educational Center - Homestead, and Chapman Partnership.
“It was so moving to see the huge participation of the Belen community in this effort,” said González. “The temptation in times like these is to isolate ourselves from the world, which only serves to make darkness thrive. Instead, our faith teaches us that it is in connection with God that we are most alive, therefore it is vital that as a community, we continue to find safe ways to be present to the most vulnerable. It is imperative also to the spiritual and psychological well- being of our students and families to continue to be engaged in the world.”
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BELEN JESUIT PREPARATORY SCHOOL
500 SW 127th Avenue, Miami, FL 33184
phone: 305.223.8600 | fax: 305.227.2565 | email: communications@belenjesuit.org
500 SW 127th Avenue, Miami, FL 33184
phone: 305.223.8600 | fax: 305.227.2565 | email: communications@belenjesuit.org
Belen Jesuit Preparatory School was founded in 1854 in Havana, Cuba, by Queen Isabel II of Spain. The task of educating students was assigned to the priests and brothers of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits), whose teaching tradition is synonymous with academic excellence and spiritual discipline. In 1961, the new political regime of Cuba confiscated the school's property and expelled the Jesuit faculty. The School was re-established in Miami the same year, and over the next decade, continued to grow. Today, Belen Jesuit is situated on a 34-acre site in western Dade County, just minutes away from downtown Miami.