Originally Posted in WISN
WAUKESHA, Wis. —
A Waukesha high school is using its annual day of service to help those affected by the Waukesha Christmas Parade.
More than 500 Catholic Memorial students participated in the annual day of service, but this year, they made a few adjustments to help those whose lives were changed by the tragedy.Advertisement
Students volunteered their morning to assemble blankets for the parade victims.
Through a parent donation, they were able to buy blanket material for everyone impacted on Sunday.
“We had a very generous parent, after the tragedy of Sunday’s Christmas parade, that went and bought blankets for all of the victims,” Catholic Memorial campus minister Cindi Petre said.
Over on the kitchen, students and staff were cooking a dozen 20-pound turkeys for their Thanksgiving drive-thru Wednesday night.
Students were putting 300 meals together, and some of those will go to parade victims.
“Does it feel different this year?” WISN 12’s Hannah Hilyard asked.
“I mean, it feels different especially with what happened on Sunday,” Catholic Memorial senior Giselle Dsouza said.
“I feel like I’m at a little bit of a disconnect because I wasn’t there, so it’s kind of cool that I’m helping those people even though I wasn’t there and couldn’t
share that experience with them,” Catholic Memorial senior Colleen Schneider said.
The additional blankets will go to area shelters.
“When one of us is hurting, we’re all hurting. And so we come together to help. Not just with what happened on Sunday but even the body of Christ is when someone is lacking something or needing, we come together to help and to support one another. And that’s what it’s all about, right?” Petre said.
In total, the students will help more than 20 organizations in the Milwaukee and Waukesha area.