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December 22, 2016OWATONNA — Earlier this month, St. Mary’s school spent a week collecting household and personal items for Hospitality House, and the response was so overwhelming the school needed to bring out extra boxes to store the surplus materials.
On Tuesday, it took multiple vehicles to transport the donated items, said Chris Smith, who teaches grades seven and eight at St. Mary’s. The school has long had a link to Hospitality House, as Pat Fagan, a deacon for St. Joseph Parish, is involved with Hospitality House and works with St. Mary’s junior high school students.
“I’m sort of a liaison between the two, and I can see what’s needed at Hospitality House, so I can pass on those suggestions,” said Fagan, who sits on Hospitality House’s board of directors and is currently treasurer. “Owatonna is a very generous, giving and caring community.”
“It’s such a blessing,” said Lori Connor, the second-grade teacher who spearheaded this effort. “It’s a great feeling.”
Students were asked to bring everything from paper towels and toilet paper to toothpaste and deodorant during this Advent-season project, Connor said. Then, students in grades two and six helped load all the collected items into a pair of vehicles Tuesday.
“We try to educate children about being a member of our community,” Smith said. “Promoting the common good is a lesson.”
In his classes, Smith and his students discuss the circumstances that might land one in poverty, and respecting people’s dignity “even though they are in a tough spot,” he said. “Treat people with compassion, not judgment.”
Hospitality House opened in 2008 and rented a spot until purchasing their current location on East Main Street across from Washington Elementary, according to Joleen Sherrets, manager of Hospitality House. They have housed males from ages 18 to 80.
Men stay at Hospitality House for all manner of reasons, she said this fall. For some, it’s a sudden job loss; for others, it’s after spending time in jail, a chemical dependency or mental illness.
There’s no cost to stay at Hospitality House, and it draws no public money, which is why donations like the St. Mary’s drive are critical. The average stay is 30 days, and while a full-house consists of 16 men, the house is usually full with a waiting list.
A project of this sort is especially timely during the holidays, a time when “children focus on what they are going to get for Christmas,” Smith said. “These projects turn the focus to what we can give, what we have to offer.”
St. Mary’s is seemingly always engaged in some type of service project, large and small, he added. “It’s layer upon layer.”
“Doing these projects changes you as a person,” Smith concluded. “It’s a reason so many teachers stay here so long.”
Connor concurred with Smith.
“St. Mary’s is my second family,” said Connor, who has been at the school for nearly four decades. “There’s such unity here.”
