Norwood-Fontbonne 5th graders (L-R) Gabbi Cilio (Blue Bell), Maria della Porta (Chestnut Hill), Sebastian Tilley (Chestnut Hill), and Joseph Valinis (Chestnut Hill) display their collection containers. Gabbi, Maria, and Joe are homeroom Campus Ministry Delegates who have challenged their classmates to pray for and generously give of their loose change to the care of their Philippine ‘dear neighbors.’ (Photo courtesy of Terri Hutsell)[/caption]

‘Tis the season for giving and sharing and Norwood-Fontbonne Academy (NFA) students are remembering their global neighbors who are in great need. Throughout December, an outreach endeavor entitled “Hope for the Philippines” invites students to make a promise in support of the Filipino people by contributing their loose change to a coin collection intended for Typhoon Haiyan relief. The effort joins a larger initiative launched by Catholic Relief Services that committed $20 million in relief aid to the Philippine government in response to the catastrophic destruction caused in November by one of the most powerful, recorded storms to ever make landfall.

NFA’s Campus Ministry Delegation, a student leadership group, has organized efforts in each classroom with creatively decorated collection containers and daily reminders of the importance of contributing to the much-needed aid and care of others.