Catholic Charities of Long Island joined Catholic Schools Week celebrations in the Diocese of Rockville Centre for a program teaching nearly 3,000 students at six Catholic elementary schools about the compassionate care Catholic Charities offers to the needy and vulnerable.
Danielle Campbell, CCLI’s director of development and communications, invited the diocese’s Catholic elementary schools to host visits. Her presentations stressed today’s superheroes, and she answered many questions from the students of each school. Campbell spoke about how happy she is to be working at Catholic Charities.
“I get to tell stories about great people doing great things,” she told students at St. Agnes Cathedral School in Rockville Centre. “It is a perfect fit. We are Catholic, but we help all people, all faiths, all backgrounds.”
A video highlighting the agency’s services showed students how Catholic Charities programs and personnel put faith into action. The kids also created Valentine’s Day cards for seniors assisted by Catholic Charities. Each student received a hand-packed gift bag filled with small treasures including Catholic Charities pencils and wristbands and screen cleaners for their electronic devices from Catholic Health.
Along with St. Agnes Cathedral School, the other schools hosting CCLI were St. Edward the Confessor School, Syosset; St. Anne School, Garden City; Holy Angels Regional School, Patchogue; St. Aidan School, Willison Park; and St. William the Abbot, Seaford. Plans are underway for Catholic Charities to visit other Catholic elementary schools during Lent.
Before Catholic Schools Week, St. Agnes Cathedral School gave an amazing gift to CCLI’s Regina Maternity Services program benefiting new mothers and their babies. During Respect Life Month in October, the school’s 602 students held a “Baby Bottle” fundraiser. Filling the bottles with spare change from their families raised an astounding total of $6,100.
“We could not believe the response from the children and families. It just took hold,” said St. Agnes principal Cecilia St. John, who credited Bishop John O. Barres with the initial motivation to consider Catholic organizations for fundraising opportunities.
Seventh-graders spearheaded the schoolwide effort, announcing the initiative at a school Mass and moving from class to class delivering the baby bottles.
Catholic Charities gave certificates of appreciation to each student. Amy Agiato, CCLIA’s director of nutrition and maternity services, was grateful to the students, families and faculty of St. Agnes Cathedral School for their “extremely generous donation” to Regina Maternity Services. Agiato was “amazed” by how much the school raised and “so grateful that Regina Maternity Services program was the recipient,” she said. “The moms and babies we serve will certainly benefit from this wonderful gift.”
Other Catholic elementary schools on Long Island who would like to learn about Catholic Charities may contact Danielle Campbell at