Portland St. Patrick Catholic School

If you happened to see large groups of St. Patrick School students walking around town during the morning of November 6, you may have wondered what they were doing out of school.  The rakes they were carrying might have been a clue that it was time for the annual St. Patrick School Pay it Forward Day.

One of the goals at St. Patrick School is that our students will learn to be good stewards of their time, talent, and treasure.  In efforts to put our mission into action, former St. Patrick School counselor  Julie (Schneider) Snitgen organized a community service day.  Years later the effort was renamed “Pay it Forward,” after the movie by the same title was released in hopes the good deeds completed by the students on Community Service Day would resonate throughout our community and beyond.  This year we were very excited to learn the idea had spread beyond our own school.  Portland Middle School students joined the effort by participating in their own Community Service Day as they spent the afternoon raking leaves and helping beautify our city.

Pay it Forward Day involves our students going out into the community to provide services that will benefit the City of Portland as well as the community at large.  The major task completed on this day is the raking and removal of leaves.  This includes raking the Portland Cemetery, under the bleachers at Powers Park, other city parks, the Portland Public Library, and at homes of individuals who request assistance.  As good stewards of the church, students also rake St. Patrick Parish property. 

As with all endeavors at St. Patrick School, the morning began with prayer, after which all our students (DK – 12) were sent forth in an effort to make our beautiful City of Two Rivers leaf free or at least to remove the leaves that had already fallen to the ground.  Our younger students, with the assistance of their adult chaperones, raked St. Patrick parish property.  They also take care of the requests that have been submitted by neighbors of St. Patrick School.  Older students branched out a little farther away from the school to rake the cemetery, parks, the library, and assist individuals who live farther away from the school. 

Later in the afternoon the high school and middle school students participated in a 3-on-3 basketball tournament.  This tournament, Hoops for Heart, followed the day’s theme of service by raising money for the American Heart Association.

It has been a very enjoyable beginning to the school year and “Pay it Forward Day” was the culmination of a lot of hard work by our students and staff.  We would like to thank Mary Scheurer, City of Portland Parks and Recreation Director who helped coordinate the removal of leaves on behalf of the City of Portland.  We would like to thank the City of Portland employees for their assistance in picking up leaves and for all they do for our community.  Make sure to watch for next years “Pay it Forward” day and let us know if we can be of any assistance to you.