Each morning over February break, Deanna and fellow travelers from Villanova helped Sister Rosemary in her ministry in Alabama, organizing the food pantry, cleaning the center, playing bingo with senior citizens, cooking and helping out with an after school-program — not your typical spring-break getaway.
Through Villanova’s Service and Justice Experiences, Deanna joined other students and staff to serve those who work every day to improve the lives of the impoverished and marginalized people they serve. A recent ABC of Andover graduate and current Villanova sophomore, Deanna shared her experiences with Mary Pritchard writing that after spending a week processing her trip to Selma, Alabama, she is even more grateful that she was granted the opportunity to go.
In addition, she wrote, that she met the most amazing people and learned so much. They stayed in a small town about 20 minutes outside of Selma called Mosses. This unincorporated town has an extremely low median income and an education system that only graduates around about 25% of students from high school. In the mornings they helped at the Catholic Center (where they also stayed), assisting Sister Rosemary with her daily tasks. This included organizing and unpacking food in the food pantry, keeping the center clean, doing activities with the senior citizens ( Bible study, bingo, arts and crafts), cooking, and helping out with the after-school program. In the afternoon and evenings they went to historic sites including Montgomery, 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Edmund Pettus Bridge, Selma to Montgomery path and city of St. Jude.
“I learned more in that one week than I can put into one message.”
She is extremely appreciative for having had this experience and we at ABC are so proud of Deanna’s continued journeys and accomplishments.