Mission Week One: A Spectacular Success!

The first Mission Week of the 2023-24 school year was a spectacular success. The charity that the Maroon and White Society chose to support was Inner City Youth Alive (ICYA). ICYA is a Christian organization situated in Winnipeg’s North End that aims to create a brighter future for those residing in the area. The campaign focused on two of the Universal Apostolic Preferences (UAPs): Walking with the Marginalized and Journeying with Youth Towards a Hope-filled Future. 

On November 23^rd, St. Paul’s High School welcomed Mr. Kent Dueck and Mr. Terry Melquist to speak about the goals and visions of Mission Week. Mr. Dueck, Executive Director/Founder of ICYA, shared his devotion to helping others and his reasons for founding ICYA. Mr. Melquist, who benefited from the services provided by ICYA, gave a moving account of his experience with gangs, poverty, and a dysfunctional household throughout his childhood spent in the North End. This assembly was eye-opening for all students at St. Paul’s, and set the tone for a successful week of fundraising and education.

Through dress-codes, donut-sales, and a pizza lunch, the St. Paul’s community raised nearly six-thousand dollars in support of ICYA. Additionally, approximately ten large boxes of non-perishable food items were collected from the community, and they too have been donated to the organization. More importantly, however, Mission Week One provided opportunities for insight and growth. On Wednesday, November 29^th, all students participated in educational workshops, which focused on understanding the issues that the less privileged in our city face, and how we, as youth, can take action. Workshops were led by guest speakers, teachers, and Maroon and White members, and the feedback received in the aftermath of the workshops was overwhelmingly positive. Wednesday after school, a speaker came and spoke to a group of St. Paul’s students about Truth and Reconciliation, followed by a smudging ceremony.

Lastly, the Maroon and White Society hopes to continue to walk with and support Inner City Youth Alive heading into the New Year with a basketball clinic at ICYA that will see St. Paul’s High School alumni, Varsity, and Junior Varsity athletes interacting and teaching youth in the North End to play basketball. Once again, on behalf of the Maroon and White Society, we would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to all the students and parents for their grateful support during this mission week; we look forward to making the next one even more impactful and memorable.