On Friday morning, November 17th, the Saint Joseph School community, including students, faculty, staff, and members of their Finance and Consultative Boards and Home and School Association, gathered in the schoolyard for the official blessing and ribbon cutting of their new community fridge. The event began with a welcome from principal Beth Boudreau, followed by an overview of the program by National Junior Honor Society (NJHS) member Laura Ibrahim. Laura explained that the purpose of the fridge is to provide food and other supplies to people without housing or those experiencing poverty. During her speech, Laura noted that there are over 1500 homeless people in Worcester County, and 561 of those people are children under the age of 18. She also informed students that 65,000 Worcester County citizens face or have faced food insecurity. These statistics underscored the importance of the community fridge. Finally, Laura explained that members of the Eagles Chapter of the Junior National Honor Society will manage the fridge and will work with Saint Joseph School families to restock the items as needed.
Pastor and Headmaster Rev. Grzegorz Chodkowski blessed the fridge following Laura’s speech. Then, Rev. Chodkowski and NJHS member Molly Hachigian had the honor of cutting the ribbon, signaling the official opening of the community fridge. Upon cutting the ribbon, the Saint Joseph School Choir led the student body in singing, “They’ll Know We are Christians.” Culminating the event, Sen. Ryan Fattman presented the Saint Joseph School National Junior Honor Society with a citation from the MA State Senate extending best wishes for the success of the community fridge. The choir and student body then sang, “Let There Be Peace on Earth.”
In addition to perishable items, The Saint Joseph School community fridge will be stocked with non-perishable items such as applesauce, canned chicken, tuna, and other canned meats, Jell-O, crackers, powdered milk, and cereal. There will also be blankets, hats, scarves, gloves, and hand and foot warmers to aid people during the winter months. The fridge will be open from 1:00 p.m. to dusk on Saturdays and 7:00 a.m. to dusk on Sundays. Saint Joseph School would like to thank SJS graduate Dave Laabs from The Airbrush Shack for designing and donating the new sign over the fridge and the Janet Malser Humanities Trust for supporting the endeavor.
Members of The Eagles Chapter of the National Junior Honor Society include 8th-grade students Laura Ibrahim and Molly Hachigian and 7th-grade students Rosemary Basha, Faith Muga, Ayla Reed, and Liana Worth. Mrs. Karen Lefebvre advises the group.
