Mount St. Charles Students Volunteer In Arizona

During school vacation in April, a group from traveled to St. Anne’s Mission on the Navajo reservation in Klagetoh, Arizona to serve on a mission trip.

The Mount group consisted of students, teachers, and other Mount staff.  Their ultimate purpose was to work together and aid in meeting the dire needs of the reservation residents who may be experiencing poverty or unemployment,  or may be suffering the effects of alcohol and child abuse.

This trip is voluntary and is open to students in the 11th and 12th grade every year. Instead of going away on a relaxing and fun vacation, these students choose to help build houses and sheep pens, clean yards and churches, build animal shelters, work with school children, and even cook for the elderly residents there. It’s an opportunity for them to serve, to experience other cultures, and to become truly aware of the adversity others are challenged with everyday. 

Mount Saint Charles Academy is a school structured in the tradition of the Brothers of the Sacred Heart. The school’s mission is to nurture and model love, compassion, and respect within a challenging, college prep environment, with special concern for the poor and neglected. Years ago, the Brothers of the Sacred Heart established this mission on the Navajo reservation, and for many years Mount students have traveled there to volunteer.

Deacon Tony also said, “This trip gives students the opportunity to practice what they’ve been taught through the school and the Brothers’ mission. It gives them the chance to make spiritual connections in an environment that most people are not exposed to. Going to the reservation is a wonderful opportunity of service for our students and it really exemplifies what the Mountie spirit is all about.”