Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Gorman students inspired to donate

Matthew

Heather Cory

At Bishop Gorman High School, student Hayley Bennett, left, puts donations from others into a donation box held by campus minister Susie Portz for Matthew 25, the school’s student-driven charitable organization. The group determines who receives the donated funds.

On a recent morning at Bishop Gorman High School, a small number of students were asked to decide whether they should pay a woman’s gas bill so that she and her 6-week-old baby wouldn’t have to go without during the cold weeks ahead.

For the 12 student members of the Matthew 25 Board, which deals with similar requests on at least a weekly basis during group meetings, the answer was simply and unanimously “yes.”

Formed nearly 14 years ago alongside Matthew’s Closet (a clothing and toiletries bank program run by students), the Matthew 25 Board is in charge of the distribution of donated funds.

Each week, the Mite Box, which refers to a box that is traditionally used to save coins for charitable purposes, is passed around each first period class.

Slogans such as “Forget your cup of joe, give Mite Box your dough,” and “Mite Box ain’t greedy, it’s all for the needy,” encourage students to give up their extra cash.

School spokeswoman Angela Blagg said the weekly donation total is usually about $900.

During a special event Dec. 16 in which a number of the students donated $1 for the privilege of dressing out of uniform by wearing jeans, the total for the day was more than $2,100.

Some of that money will be used to purchase in-need items for Matthew’s Closet such as underwear, jackets and warm socks.

The rest will go to help individuals in the Las Vegas community who have recently found themselves in an emergency situation or temporarily down on their luck.

Susie Portz who, as the school’s campus ministry service coordinator, oversees the Matthew 25 Board, said each week the group receives roughly four to 10 applications for assistance from local social service agencies and decides how much it can afford to give.

Junior Katie Wells said making such tough decisions isn’t a burden.

“I think it’s a really cool thing we can decide such things,” she said. “At other schools, kids don’t have such an opportunity to impact the community. It’s good.”

And school officials make sure that each student at Gorman is made well aware of the impact of their giving.

On the board in the school lunchroom are write-ups about the situations of applicants and heartfelt words of gratitude from donation recipients.

“It’s nice to know you’ve helped someone, even if it’s not a lot,” said group member Annie Barnhurst, a sophomore.

Kim Martinez, the Campus ministries retreat coordinator, said outside of helping the community, the program teaches students a lesson.

“It opens their eyes to the need that’s out there. A lot of our kids don’t deal with that on a daily basis,” she said.

For Megan Ralphs, a junior in the group, hearing about the plight of others has made her think about her own situation.

“When you hear these cases, it makes you so grateful for everything you have,” she said.

Ashley Livingston can be reached at 990-8925 or [email protected]

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