Christ commands us to love our neighbors and care for the least among us. For high school student Max Milbourn, this call became a mission to combat hunger. Now a senior at Moeller High School, Milbourn created a service opportunity, Sandwiches for All, for his fellow classmates to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for Our Daily Bread food bank.

A parishioner of and graduate from St. John the Baptist in Dry Ridge, Milbourn participates in multiple ministries, including as a Campus Ministry Executive board member and Kairos retreat leader. He’s also a Zehler House Captain, involved with Corryville Little Buddies, on the Speech and Debate Team, and run cross country during his freshman through junior years.

Moeller’s Director of Campus Ministry, Steve Joebgen, said Milbourn’s participation in Shantytown—a homelessness awareness immersion on the Moeller campus, Over-the-Rhine and the West End—inspired Milbourn to create his service opportunity.

“We get students together a few times a month to make around 200 PB&J sandwiches,” Milbourn said. “These get donated to Our Daily Bread food bank in Over-the-Rhine. Getting to do this and bring my classmates together to help our community has been my favorite thing to do out of the classroom.”

“Max spends roughly six hours on this activity and does not get to see the impact that it makes, since he spends all of about 30 seconds at Our Daily Bread when he drops off the sandwiches,” said Joebgen. “Max himself is the embodiment of the Characteristics of Marianist Education (CME), which are evident in every school that is animated by the Marianist charism: To be formed by Mary for the mission of Christ.”

Joebgen noted that Milbourn successfully applied for grants from Moeller’s Youth Philanthropy Council to purchase bread and buckets of peanut butter and jelly for Sandwiches for All. He invites students to make sandwiches before or after school or during a free period in the school day.

Milbourn wants to eventually be a nurse practitioner at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and understands that using his faith in action now is something he can carry with him well after graduation.

“Helping the community around you is a huge part of living out the way Jesus wants us to love,” said Milbourn. “Seeing the smiles on people’s faces as they help their community and the joy of the receiving end of the help shows me how much of Jesus’ love is in the world.”

“I hope that others are inspired by Max to put love into action in direct service to those who are suffering from material poverty,” said Joebgen. “Max takes seriously his desire to represent Jesus to others by personally reaching out to those who are suffering and by creatively using his gifts to make a meaningful contribution where others were not stepping in. He is glad to be part of a community of servant leaders, and I think everyone can learn from his powerful, faithful witness.

This article appeared in the January 2025 edition of The Catholic Telegraph Magazine. For your complimentary subscription, click here