Guardian Angels School (GA), located in Mt. Washington on the east side of Cincinnati, was abuzz the morning of Sept. 27. Buses lined the school’s front entrance as students walked out of their classrooms, wearing white GA t-shirts. Students were bound for locations across the city and, in some cases, across the state line, to serve the community for the school’s annual Servathon.

Now in its seventh year, this event serves a dual purpose: it gives students in preschool through eighth grade the opportunity to work together to serve others, and community sponsorships for student participants provide an essential fundraiser to assist with ongoing needs at GA school.

“The idea behind creating [the Servathon] has always been rooted in our calling as Catholic Christians to serve one another,” said GA school principal Corey Stoops. “Many schools have walk-a-thons or other fun and exciting events held as fundraisers, but we wanted to do something which benefited the lives of others, produced good for our community, and demonstrated the importance of serving to our students.”

The entire school participates in the event. Faculty and staff travel with fourth through eighth graders throughout the city, including to assist at Matthew 25 Ministries, St. Vincent de Paul, Sweet Cheeks Diaper Bank and Comboni Missionaries, among others. Back at the campus, younger students are charged with doing everything from making sandwiches for the homeless to decorating cards for troops overseas.

In Rachel Rodrigue’s first grade class, students created goody bags for families staying at the Ronald McDonald house. “They assembled treats and cards for the kids who are there who might have siblings staying at the hospital,” said Rodrigue. “And then we also make cards for the troops – Thanksgiving and thank you cards.”

First graders proudly scrawled sweet messages and drew pictures for those in need of words of encouragement.

“We do this to teach the kids that we can do more for other people. The first grade teachers here, we say, ‘You’re Jesus’ hands and you’re Jesus’ feet.’ So how can we help everyone else in need while we are here in school all together?” said Rodrigue. “It’s a good way for kids to see that they can make a difference.”

“The Servathon is important for the students and school staff because it represents who we are at Guardian Angels and the type of student who is developed at our school,” said Stoops.

He continued, “Being a servant means putting the needs of others first, just as Jesus did. Our mission at GA is to prepare students to be faithful disciples through service and leadership. We want out students to be servants throughout their lives, not just at GA, so the more opportunities we can provide for them to serve, they will better understand the importance.”