Marymount Volunteers With San Pedro Non-Profits During All-College Service Day

Marymount’s faculty and staff left their classrooms and offices on Tuesday, February 21 for a different kind of work. It was the annual All-College Service Day which is designed to give faculty and staff a chance to mingle with a completely different demographic, get their hands dirty, and rekindle the joys of service and spiritual development. The event, facilitated by Campus Ministry, demonstrated that the Marymount core value of service draws the best intentions of not only its students but of its chieftains of infrastructure as well.

These volunteers lent their energies to six San Pedro organizations: The Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy (White Point Reserve), the San Pedro Science Center (LAUSD’s “The Farm”), the L.A. Maritime Institute (“TopSail” program), the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium (Cabrillo Coastal Park), the Warner Grand Theatre, and the Salvation Army’s Sage House Senior Day Care Center. Volunteers spent the morning clearing trails, working in a sustainable garden, scrubbing tall ship galleys, painting trail signage, cleaning and painting in the stately Art Deco theatre, and interacting with senior citizens who have Alzheimer’s Disease or other dementia disorders.

After spending the morning rediscovering the merits of labor, participants spent the afternoon in a mini-retreat and reflected on their fresh experiences in light of Marymount’s spiritual mission and the “Principles of Catholic Social Teaching.” The Mission Review Task Force also led a portion of the afternoon session as part of this year’s review of Marymount’s mission, vision, and value statements.

Artfully Crafted: Students Bring It Home

Under a hot sun on a beautiful Palos Verdes Saturday, over 50 Marymount College students joined staff and faculty to build a house right in the College’s parking lot.

This wasn’t just any house and these weren’t just any students: the loft house is destined for a needy family in Mexico and the majority of students were freshman participating in orientation week.

With the help of Hands of Mercy, the 12 foot square pre-fabricated loft home was constructed in panels. Slowly the peak of the roof, the staircase to the loft, and the walls of the home came into focus until everyone wielding a hammer or using a saw had to pause and smile at the fruits of their labor. But that Saturday they wouldn’t see the final product. When all was said and done, each piece of the house was loaded on a trailer to be trucked to Mexico. The students and their advisors will follow to the small town outside of Ensenada where they will finish their mission. The house will be put together, painted and presented to the family who will live in it.

Victoria Boyd, a freshman from Rancho Palos Verdes, and Anthony “Chip” Angeles of Manhattan Beach, both hope to be one of the 25 students chosen to accompany the house to Mexico.

“I wanted to get involved from day one,” Victoria said. “I got a chance to meet people. After today, I hope I get a chance to follow this project through to the end.”

That sentiment was echoed by Chip Angeles who made the day of service a family affair. His mother – dressed in a ‘Marymount Mom’ T-shirt – pitched in alongside her son. Chip pointed out that he has “always liked helping and giving back.”

The family in Mexico is lucky indeed; Marymount is luckier still to have Victoria, Chip and so many other wonderful young people in our student body.