Cathedral’s National Honor Society hosted a book drive to raise money fot Saint Jude Academy, a Diocesan elementary school in downtown San Diego.

According to the moderator of the National Honor Society and English teacher Mrs. Kristy Bormann, the Saint Jude book drive replaced the annual NHS shoe drive, and occurred during the week of January 28th to February 4th. During this week, students dropped-off books in their English classes.

After collecting for a few weeks, the drive accumulated around 300 books. “All and all, the drive went fantastically. The kids were so generous, and the teachers were so accommodating. It went really easily and smoothly, and we’re just excited to get these to Saint Jude’s,” said Bormann.

Situated in Southcrest, San Diego, Saint Jude Academy educates 204 students in classes ranging from pre-kindergarten to eighth grade. The plan to hold  a book drive for this school was conceived during the faculty service days on the 3rd and 4th of January.

As reported by Ms. Bormann, the principal of Saint Jude Academy came to Cathedral during one of the service days and spoke about her school. Later, a small group of faculty, including history tracher Ms. Melissa Padgett and counselor Mrs. Katie Valenzuela, spent the day at Saint Jude’s campus, volunteering, and getting to know the kids.

“They were so appreciative and excited to have us there,”  said Mrs. Valenzuela. “One student saw that I was wearing a Cathedral lanyard and asked if he could buy one like it, so I gave it to him. He was so happy. It’s funny, some small things make some people so happy.”

Following the hours of service work, Bormann, Padgett, Valenzuela and others discussed the book drive project, ”Mrs. Padgett really helped me; she was the one who came up with the idea,” said Mrs.Bormann. ”She was talking about how the school was definitely in need of simple things that they could really benefit from having.”

Overall, Mrs. Bormann feels the drive made an impact. She said, “There are so many sacrifices on the end of the teachers and administration, as well as the parents, and I think if we could alleviate some of those conditions, and contribute to make their load a little lighter, then, we’ll be accomplishing our goal.”