Did you know there is a new club at Chaminade? START stands for St. Louis Teens Aid Refugees Today. START’s mission is to aid refugee families in St. Louis by connecting them with teens seeking volunteer opportunities. Volunteers help through fundraising, providing moving assistance, tutoring, and providing fun outings for refugee families. As Chaminade students, we are called to exemplify Catholic Marianist values of compassion, justice, optimism, peace and a respect for the dignity of human life and the integrity of creation.

I became the President of START as an organization about 5 months ago. START is a non-profit organization that has clubs at 22 different schools and over 200 total representatives from the STL area. I want to quickly recap what START has done for me. I get to meet new Afghan, Syrian, and African families and get to know their stories, broadening my perspective about immigration. I get to see the love, compassion, and hope shared with these migrant families by not only teens, but people of all ages. My heart is filled with empathy and love for these people because of the amazing people I work with. In the past year, I have moved families in and out of homes, taken families to soccer games, visited countless families, built and transported furniture, and much more.

So, what can you do? That’s where START comes in. By joining the club, you can knock out all of your service hours and help refugees as well. You can choose your own commitment level based on your availability. This is a great opportunity to help your community and get to know other students that want to help. If you are interested in joining the club, please contact me, Grant Mueller, Isaiah Valdeabella, or Mr. Stout. You can also be on the email list by clicking this link.