Loyola Academy Collects 504 Bags of Food for Catholic Charities

After their e-learning classes concluded on Friday, May 8, Loyola Academy students Nicole Cleland ’21 and Betsy Regan ’21, organizers of a food drive for the Catholic Charities’ food pantry in Des Plaines, delivered the donations they collected from the Loyola community. Catholic Charities is one of Loyola’s Arrupe service partners, and they have witnessed an increase in the demand for food by almost 100 percent since March.
“Our time at Loyola has prepared us to take on this task because Loyola teaches us to be women and men for others,” said the student organizers in a joint statement. “We know that when there is an immediate need in the community, we must tend to it. Loyola teaches us to care for everyone, so when we saw that we could actually make a difference we did.”

The young women organized the drive by creating a Google form for those who wanted their contributions to be picked up by the students and delivered to the food pantry.  This made it easy for people in the Chicago area to donate if they weren’t able to go to Des Plaines. Nicole and her father, Loyola Academy alumnus Tom Cleland '85, delivered one car load of collected items, and Betsy and her father, Loyola Academy Trustee Matt Regan, and mother, Julie Talano, delivered another.

Additionally, Loyola’s football team, rallied by J.T. Thomas '21, arrived by spirited caravan at the food pantry with approximately eight truckloads of food. Other Loyola community members, including parents, students, alumni and  faculty and staff, dropped off their donations directly to Catholic Charities in Des Plaines during the day on Friday, May 1, and Friday, May 8, from 8:30 a.m. until 3:30 p.m.

All in all, the Loyola community came together to deliver over 500 bags of groceries to Catholic Charities' Des Plaines Food Pantry. These items will enable the organization to prepare 252 30-pound boxes of food to address food insecurity in the community and help to keep food pantry shelves full.

“We could not meet the increased demand for food, during the pandemic, without your efforts,” said Adriana S. Kelly, regional director at Catholic Charities, in an email to school officials announcing the donation drive totals and impact. “We are grateful for Loyola’s partnership and humbled by your generosity!” 

Nicole and Betsy also collected $560 in cash via Venmo for the food pantry through an Instagram appeal to friends asking them to donate from $1 to $7. 

While the student organizers have much to be proud of, they are quick to recognize the supporting role of their classmates, teachers, parents and friends. “There was an extremely strong response to this, and even with social distancing and quarantine we exceeded our expectations,” the pair said. “Many students helped raise money. Loyola clubs and sports teams helped donate and spread the word. We have collected so much food, and it is very exciting to see how strong the Rambler community is.” 
 
Nicole and Betsy are part of a group of Loyola Academy juniors who, before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, were signed up to participate in Loyola’s summer service and immersion trip to the U.S. and American border with the Kino Border Initiative in Nogales, Arizona, and Nogales, Mexico. Instead, the group is planning on learning more about immigration issues and spending time with migrants via Zoom during a weeklong virtual summer service experience with the Kino Border Initiative beginning on Memorial Day 2020.
 
As part of its mission to live out the call to be women and men for others through a faith that does justice, Loyola Academy students and young alumni have a longstanding relationship with Catholic Charities. Through Loyola’s Arrupe after school service program, students volunteer weekly at the food pantry, clothing room and soup kitchen, and through Loyola’s junior board, the President’s Leadership Council (PLC), young alumni frequently volunteer at Catholic Charities in Des Plaines and at the headquarters on LaSalle Street in Chicago. Members of the PLC  assisted with Nicole’s and Betsy’s efforts by donating food as well.
 
As the demand for food increases, Nicole and Betsy are urging others who have the means to donate to the Catholic Charities food pantry. Items needed include canned meats, vegetables or fruit; soup, beans, oatmeal, cereal, rice, peanut butter, jelly, pasta, pasta sauce, nuts, juice, milk and eggs. The Des Plaines food pantry serves the north and northwest suburbs in Illinois and is open weekly for those who need help on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.  

“Loyola instils in its students that service to others is a very important aspect to our lives, and we continue to live by that by serving the community even during hard times like this,” they said.
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