Community Service
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Learning to give back to others is vital for positive youth development and a core component of life at Mercy Academy. We grow from an understanding of how we fit into society to growth in our faith to learning to solve societal problems. This developmental process grows empathy and fosters students' identities as engaged citizens and stewards of Jesus' teachings.
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How do students learn to make community service a way of life rather than something expected or required of them? We learn to express our caring for others and evolve toward active citizenship through:
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Responsible actions
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Leadership
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Innovative thinking
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Service-learning in high school offers unique opportunities to link what we learn in the classroom to real world situations in our communities. Often, these experiences push us out of our comfort zones to see the world in new ways. These experiences are often transformative and teach how to think critically about the world around us. This transformative process involves confronting moral dilemmas and reflecting on the values instilled during childhood.
Students are required to complete 15 hours of community service per academic year with a total of 60 hours of service as a graduation requirement along with their academic credits. Opportunities are organized for service throughout the school year, but students are also strongly encouraged to seek out their own service initiatives as well as to follow their own interests and passions for change.
As each one has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of God's varied grace.
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1 Peter 4:10
What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister has nothing to wear and has no food for the day, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, keep warm and eat well,” but you do not give them the necessities of the body, what good is it? So also faith of itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
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