Students volunteer time and talent

Students and chaperones from Loretto Academy in El Paso, St. Mary’s Academy in Denver and Nerinx Hall High School in St. Louis arrived at the Motherhouse campus in Nerinx, Ky., on May 31 to kick off another Loretto Schools Volunteer Week. The week is a whirlwind of learning, exploring, conversing and working.

The first day and a half is always a crash course on all things Loretto Motherhouse, its grounds and history. After a successful orientation on Saturday to go over the week ahead, the students and chaperones spent Sunday attending the prayer service in the church, enjoying a campus and museum tour with Reba Weatherford, director of the Heritage Center, and experiencing a meaningful discussion with Susan Classen CoL about Apache tribal members’ efforts to protect a sacred site at Oak Flat, Ariz.

Bright and early Monday the students began their full week of experiences. Groups would work throughout the week on projects that included — take a deep breath, this is quite a list! — cleaning headstones in Our Lady of Sorrows Cemetery, placing cages around newly planted trees with Loretto Motherhouse Farm Director Cody Rakes, laying brick chips at Cedars with Susan and volunteer Aaron Cassada, mulching the path around Mary’s Lake with Motherhouse staff member Joe Graves and Mary Swain SL, scraping and painting picnic tables, clearing the Nature Run 5K path with Motherhouse Education and Outreach Coordinator Angela Rakes and cleaning porches, the mobile home, outdoor furniture and the floor of the barn.

The students enjoyed tours of the Motherhouse Farm and Cedars of Peace, experienced Bioblitz with New Pioneers for a Sustainable Future, baked scones with Alicia Ramirez SL and Sue Charmley SL, created a display with Heritage Center staff and made peace booklets and crafts with Carolyn Jaramillo CoL. They enjoyed a hot dog roast and flying kites, as well as crafts with Loretto Living Center residents. To say it was a busy week for the volunteers and chaperones is an understatement.

Thank you to all 11 students and the teachers who participated. We are grateful!

To read all of the articles in the fall 2025 issue click here.