Making a Difference

Students help young learners with reading skills

In a unique partnership, students from De La Salle began working during the second semester with second and third graders at Rainbow Elementary School in the Clintondale Community School District. Seniors Gianluca Cavataio and Cristian Adragna and sophomores Thomas Smith and Andrew Jasukaitis worked with students on their reading skills. Christian Service Director Jo Marie Ragona ar ranged for the service opportunity.

Students at Rainbow Elementary

Student groups continue Sweetheart tradition

Since 2013, students from De La Salle Collegiate have helped residents of the Sanctuary at Fraser Villa – a senior living community – enjoy a Valentine’s Day celebration. In February, nearly a dozen members of De La Salle’s Student Council and National Honor Society volun teered at the annual Sweetheart Dance, which has become a great opportunity for students and residents to socialize, have fun, and enjoy some music. It’s the fourth year that the two student leadership orga nizations have collaborated on this remarkable evening chaperoned by English teachers Annmarie Michol and Traci Smith. De La Salle students who participated in the dance were seniors Jarod Amparo, Noah Cole, Jacob Cosart, Justin Desmet, Andrew Newton, and Joey Opolski; juniors Joshua Hoenscheid and Gabriel Lueck; sophomores Nathan Troszak and Josh Weiss; and freshman George Gardey. “Service is a huge component of both organizations,” Michol said. “The boys sat and had meaningful conver sations with the residents and they danced with them and escorted them onto the dance floor. In addition, they took care of any needs they had.”

Sweetheart Dance at Fraser Villa

Sophomore is a shining example of Christian Service

In early February, De La Salle Collegiate sophomore Seth Ray attended Night to Shine, which was a night to remem ber for the Tim Tebow Foundation. Night to Shine is an unforgettable prom night experience, centered on God’s love for people with special needs. The sixth annual event was celebrated in more than 700 church es around the world with approximately 115,000 honored guests through the support of 215,000 volunteers. “It’s a night for the special needs kids to know that they are loved by all and that they are the kings and queens,” Ray said. “Every attendee was treated like the king and queen of the prom. “My experience doing it for the first time this year was absolutely amazing. Watching these kids smile from ear to ear as they walked down the red carpet and had paparazzi taking pictures of the guests and their dates. Having an impact on these kids’ lives and helping make their night special was an amazing feeling.” Jo Marie Ragona, De La Salle’s director of Christian Services, calls Ray a service rock star. “Seth Ray has such a big heart for children, for disabled, for his friends,” she said. “He really is a generous young man.” As a freshman last year, Ray graciously volunteered his time at Bovenschen School’s Fun Walk, Run and Roll. Bovenschen provides educational services for students, ages 3-26, with moderate to severe cognitive impairments. Ragona sets up most of the volunteer opportunities for De La Salle students. However, Ray jumped at the Night to Shine chance through his church – Warren Woods Baptist Church. “He’s going to be a service superstar,” Ragona said. “A lot of people, even adults feel awkward, but it’s something that has to come from your heart. You just can’t go through the motions. And he makes real connections with people.”

Sophomore Seth Ray at the Night to Shine event

Motowski leads Friday night volunteering effort

Typical teenagers commonly prefer to spend Friday nights hanging with friends or attending school activities like football and basketball games. De La Salle Collegiate’s Vince Motowski usually fits that description. But recently, the junior, who has been elected 2021 student council president, bucked the trend. After learning about a volunteer opportunity with Macomb Foster Closet – on a February Friday evening no less – Motowski figured he’d need to be persuasive in wrangling students to help out. “That’s exactly what I thought,” he said. Working with Traci Smith, De La Salle’s National Honor Society moderator, Motowski spearheaded an amazing ef fort, getting 16 fellow students to help sort and fold clothing for the nonprofit organization, which provides muchneeded essential items for free to all children in foster care and the amazing families that care for them. “I told Ms. Smith when I looked up February 21 and it was a Friday night, ‘We’re going to try,’ ” Motowski said. “But I set the (sign-up) papers down and told the guys they needed to do these events, and it was that easy. I thought they’d never do it, but kids just signed up for it. It was really no problem.” Foster Closet, in Mount Clemens, is a free resource for foster and adoptive families to select new and gently used clothes, toys, bedding, diapers, wipes, and other needed supplies for free. “Many foster families take in children at a moment’s notice and they oftentimes can come with little to no belongings,” Smith said. “Foster Closets like this are a godsend so chil dren can keep their dignity even in very tough situations and foster families have support in doing so. “We separated clothing for their upcoming mom-to-mom sale. Any proceeds are used to purchase more supplies for foster and adoptive families in Macomb County and sur rounding areas.”

Motowski and his mates spent 90 minutes sorting and folding. He was joined by seniors Andrew Rusu, Parker Kuchulan, Robby Shiner, Adam Zepp; juniors Suheum Heo, Kihun Kim, Cameron Kessler, Anthony Elias, Brady Johnson, Xavier Omozokpia, Luke Boldman, Aidan Dankanics, Anthony McCollum, Nico Praet; and sopho mores Caden Koneval and Charlie Freese. “They had boxes of clothes that they received, and we sorted them between sizes,” Motowski said. “We sorted and folded for about an hour and a half. They get a ton of clothes; they’re not lacking in that department. So they need people going in to help. We had a good 20 people come in and fold and sort. They said it normally takes a week for them to do with their volunteers, so they were happy to have us.” Smith, an English teacher, was impressed by the students’ initiative. “As a foster parent myself – who has personally benefited from Foster Closets – I am overjoyed to support and vol unteer at this organization and expose our students to the opportunity to serve children in their own community,” she said. “They can always use more donations.” Motowski, a dual-enrollment student taking business classes at the University of Detroit Mercy, said he plans to volunteer again at Macomb Foster Closet. “That will probably be my service project next year, too,” he said.