Welcome back to Mercy! After our first two very successful years with Helping Hands of Mercy, we are looking forward to an even more generous year this year. The needs are great in our community and there is a lot we can do with our own helping hands. Stay tuned and we will be discussing and announcing some exciting new projects.

Update September 2: We are proud to announce that we now have a student leadership team made up of middle school students who have volunteered to make this year's HHM efforts even more fun and productive! The first meeting of this group is Thursday, Sept 3, in Mrs Shaw's classroom. There will be a lot to discuss as we start formulating the plans for the year. Congratulations to all who offered their services. We are very happy to have you onboard.

Update Sept 14: Helping Hands volunteers have already been quite busy. Thanks to all of you who helped with the rummage sale. Your help was invaluable and we are very grateful.

Our first collection of the year is hand sanitizer. It is hard to believe, but there are over 600 school age children who are homeless attending our local public schools. In order to help them to protect themselves again the various viruses so prevalent right now, we are donating hand sanitizers. They are available in the "dollar stores" for a dollar and could go a long way in protecting someone from serious illness.

UPDATE OCTOBER 5: Thanks to everyone who contributed to the hand sanitizer collection. We had a very good response and we are grateful for everyone's generosity! Now that it is October and the weather will be getting cooler, please check through your closets for coats, gloves, scarves, mittens and any other winter weather outer gear that you have outgrown or no longer need. Blankets too are needed. This is our third annual coat drive. Mercy Mustangs have been very generous in the past. If your old coat can give someone else protection from the winter cold, you can be proud of passing it on to someone in need. Adult coats are also welcome.

UPDATE OCTOBER 29:  We are off to a great start on something new this year, a project called U-ACT.  This is a program sponsored by Red Robin Restaurants and you have received some information about it in the Mercy-Gram.  Our middle school student leadership team has been a great help in getting us started.  The students decided to choose a faculty or staff member each week to honor with random acts of kindness.  Our first recipients were Mr Tim Smith, a kind volunteer who keeps all our windows sparkling.  Next honored were the parish staff.  This week Mrs. Edwards was "queen for a day" and Coach Adams' day was today, Thursday.  The rest of the honorees are secret until the day they are announced.  The team informs the students about a week in advance so that they can prepare some little surprise for the person just to let him or her know how much we appreciate them.  Excitement is building.

Another great project has been the poster contest to highlight just what "U-ACT" or unbridled acts of kindness means.  The posters have been wonderful.  They are hanging in the cafeteria and in the stairwell on the way to the cafeteria.  Pre-K's collage of their beautiful little hands is on display in the lobby for all to see.  Sister Geri will announce the winners of the contest very soon, but everyone really deserves recognition for all the thought and effort they put into their work.  More to come on U-ACT in the very near future.  We are fortunate to go to school in a place where kindness is a priority and we celebrate it every day.