Students Show Mercy, Give Back to Community

Giving back starts at home.

That’s the message junior high school students were hoping to impart on Friday when they held their final Live Mercy Day for the 2011-2012 academic year.

Keeping in mind the day’s theme, “Living Mercy in Our Own Community,”  7th and 8th graders put their faith into practice in a hands’ on way, as they immersed themselves in an array of community service projects that embody the Living Mercy philosophy.

Students spent Friday morning volunteering to clean fire trucks at the Flanders Volunteer Fire Department, helping with road-side clean up in Riverhead, collecting non-perishable food for Ronald McDonald House and water bottles for the Water Project at area supermarkets, orchestrating a car wash to raise money for the La Fortuna School in El Salvador, and spending time with residents at Peconic Bay Medical Center’s skilled nursing facility.

In addition, a group of students helped with plantings at the Jamesport Harvest Farm in Aquebogue, which Emilie Zaweski and her husband Mark run, along with the adjacent MKZ Farm.

Teacher Darryl Smith said the experience was invaluable for students. “They’re able to get out and see how different people live in Riverhead,” he said.

Added 8th grader Fiona Miles, 13, “Even though we’re young, we can still give back.”