Compassion

On October 24th, the Women's Empowerment Club held a bake sale to fund the filling of the Compassion Closet in Room 102. It will be filled with feminine hygiene products, granola bars, deodorant spray, etc. Stay tuned to see it all filled up! We love seeing Panthers helping Panthers!

October 19th was PHS's Pink Out Volleyball Game for Breast Cancer Awareness month. 
There was 5 dollars charged at the door and a 2 dollar dress down. All proceeds will be donated to the Maria Fareri Children's Hospital towards Breast Cancer. 

About 2 and a half weeks into the Food Drive, between monetary donations and food donations, we have 4,086 points in total! We are almost half way to our goal! Thank you to everyone who has brought in food. Keep it up! LET'S GO FOOD DRIVE PANTHERS! BRING IN FOOD!

On October 5th, the Italian Club gathered to write thank you letters to Preston faculty and staff, letting them know how much they do for us students and how much we appreciate them!  Goooo Faculty and Staff Panthers!  And thank you to the Italian Club for making them feel appreciated.

It's Food Drive season! Our annual sing-a-long assembly started us off! Remember - the 4 homerooms to bring the most food get Mrs. Dekajlo's famous cookies and if Preston collects at least 10,000 pounds of food, $10,000, or a combination of both, WE GET A DAY OFF! So LET'S BRING IN FOOD!!!

This year Preston's Sacramental Preparation program has 10 students! They will spend the whole year preparing for their Confirmation - which will take place at our school wide Easter liturgy in April. As with all Sacramental Prep programs, Preston's has a service requirement.  The students in the class are starting off the year working on a group project - writing letters to people struggling with homelessness in the Bronx. Lamp Ministries ministers to such individuals. Last year at a guest lecture at a Compassion Connection meeting, a gentleman who now himself ministers for Lamp, spoke about how a letter from a stranger gave him that inspiration to turn his life around.  Preston Sacramental Prep students hope to be this kind of inspiration to someone as well.
 

The Italian Honors Society gathered on September 28th to write letters and make first-aid packages for the Senior Citizens of the Preston Center of Compassion. The packages included deodorant, masks, bandaids, gloves, grooming kits, etc. Go Italian Honor Society Compassion Panthers!

On September 16th, the Preston High School community gathered in the gym to root for the Junior Varsity and Varsity volleyball panthers.  Our volleyball players took on Maria Regina High School, in tribute to Amanda Tamburrino, Preston senior, who passed away on September 13th after her difficult battle with Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Our Panthers ran a bake sale and collected entrance fees at the door. $3,411 were raised!   In Amanda's memory, all of these proceeds will be donated to the Westchester Medical Center for Hodgkin's Lymphoma research. As students, faculty, family, and guests sported their best purple attire for Hodgkin's Lymphoma awareness, there was not a dry eye in the gym and there has never been a bigger sense of Panther pride in these hallways! 

The proceeds from this Food Fest Wednesday-Friday are going to The Food Bank for New York City. The Food Bank of New York City intends to provide 10 million meals to New Yorkers in need this holiday season. Every donation received by the FBNYC is going to be doubled by a benefactor. Although compassion sets the tone  every day at Preston, it is amplified during the holidays because panthers cannot bear the thought of anyone being without a warm meal to eat.

The Spanish Honor Society packed 28 bags of groceries for families from the Santa Maria Parish. In addition, SHS provided turkeys so these needy families can enjoy a traditional Thanksgiving.

Preston’s compassion encompasses all charities, small or large.  Donating to individual families rather than a large organization, SHS understands the BIG difference they make by helping these SMALLER causes when they see the thankful faces of the people whose lives they are touching.

The end of the food drive is always an exciting day in Preston’s “compassion matters campaign.” In total, the Preston community collected an astonishing 10,240 pounds of food. Students spent hours passing food along assembly lines from the makeshift pantry on the stage to various pickup trucks, a bus, and cars in the faculty parking lot.

Approximately 3,500 lbs went to the Divine Compassion Food Pantry in Dover Plains, 2,000 lbs went Mercy Center in the Bronx, 2,000 lbs went to St. Raymond’s pantry in the Bronx, and 2000 lbs went to Our Lady of Assumption Pantry in the Bronx. 70 food packages were delivered to individual families. With our deeply rooted determination and passion, Preston will never settle for defeat. The charity we accomplish through the food drive every year is the epitome of compassion.

The Italian Club (moderated by Ms. DeMaio) delivered packages of cans to a local organization called LAMP ministry in Throggs Neck. The vocation of LAMP is to help everyone know God’s love. LAMP ministry preaches at St. Thomas Aquinas Church and Corpus Christi, proclaiming the word of God and feeding the poor.

Although LAMP ministry delivers food to three different parts of the Bronx, Preston’s packages will be delivered specifically to homeless families and pregnant mothers since these packages crafted with love. According to the organizers of LAMP, “the greatest poverty that the poor experience is the lack of spirituality.”  Here's to spreading God's love!

Big Sister-Little Sister is an afterschool program on Tuesdays in which selected Preston juniors are paired with 3rd grade girls from a public school in the Bronx. These girls often come from struggling families in which the parents work full time and are unavailable to help  the girls with homework. These girls are not as fortunate to have the “traditional, ideal family life."  Our Preston girls act as their “big sisters,” helping them with homework, and building relationships with them. The “big sisters” instill values such as honesty, determination, commitment, and passion in their “little sisters.” This is an amazing opportunity for girls  to have a role model, someone to aspire to be like.

Compassion Connection organized Big Sister-Little Sisters' first party of the year to celebrate Thanksgiving. Students brought in homemade baked goods for the Big and Little Sisters to share. Together they made necklaces, sang Disney songs, and danced. 

Shealin Corbett adores her “big sister” Angela Akalonu and exclaimed “this is the best day ever! I never knew school could be so much fun!” Every “little sister” went home with a thank-you card for their parents and a bag of groceries, including rice, cereal, stuffing, and cans (collected in the schoolwide food drive.) 

Compassion Connection’s Bake Sale raised $100 for the family of a Preston alumna who passed away, battling cancer. Preston’s compassion extends to everyone, especially one of our own…”Once a panther, always a panther.”

With only one week left of the food drive, the Preston family is keeping their fingers crossed that their goal will be met. Preston has a reputation of generosity to uphold and a goal of 9,000 pounds of food to meet.  Every year, the previous year’s success is surpassed. Mrs. Dekajlo, moderator of the food drive, is certain 3,760 lbs will be collected this upcoming week! Stay tuned…

The Italian Club and Honor Society celebrated Thanksgiving early with members of the senior citizen community. The guests were greeted with Italian cookies, pizza, refreshments, and a chance to win cash prizes playing tambola (bingo).

 Students were thankful to share an evening with such incredible carriers of their culture, wisdom, and experience. The Senior citizens were amazed by all the charity the Italian Club and Honor Society does!

The proceeds from this week's Food Fest Thursday-Friday will be going to City Meals on Wheels, an organization that serves homebound elderly in all five boroughs. Without this mobile food pantry, many New Yorkers, unable to walk to the supermarket due to age and disability, would be at risk for malnourishment. Preston’s compassion permeates throughout New York, by supporting this organization.

Unfortunately, many elderly individuals are manipulated, disregarded, and taken for granted.   However, the Italian Club adopts senior citizens into the Preston community. The Italian Club prepared for the next Senior Citizen Night by crafting candy packages "made with love!" Megi Alikaj (Class of 2019) enjoys engaging with the senior citizens because "they are full of life and excitement especially when playing "tombola" (Bingo in Italian) in hopes of winning prizes." The Italian Club defies the misconception of age barriers as Preston students interact and bring happiness to the senior citizen community.

Some candy packages will also be set aside for a LAMP ministry. Embracing another marginalized group, the Italian Club writes letters to the homeless, hoping to inspire and uplift those who are struggling economically. 

Another week down - another 1000 pounds of food donated! The Preston community contends with only 3 weeks left of the food drive. At the midway point of our food drive, students have donated a total of 3345 pounds of non-perishable foods.  Compassion Connection members sorted and pulled out food items that will be needed to make Thanksgiving baskets and packages by Italian Club and Spanish Honor Society.  The rest was packed up and made ready for a pantry pickup. 

Mercy Center came with a pickup truck and assembly lines moved 2000 pounds of food from the stage to the faculty parking lot.   If our goal is reached, we will collect 9000lbs and get a day off from school! With the clock ticking and the goal awaiting, incentive is high and the tone in the school is a generous one!

Preston’s Annual Breast Cancer Awareness Game ignites excitement among the volleyball players and individuals whose families have been affected by breast cancer. This game raises funds for The Breast Cancer Research Fund by selling pink shirts and hair extensions worn by members of the Preston Community is these photos.

One of our own, Jamie Skrapits, Preston’s athletic director, battled with breast cancer so the girls played in her honor. The Varsity Panthers won the game.  But more improtantly,  Preston is the true winner, fighting for a cause. #Prestonstrong 

Students continue to bring in food for our schoolwide Food Drive.  At the conclusion of the second week of the drive, our donations weigh in at 1876 pounds.  A steady stream of canned soups, boxes of cereal, and bags of rice keeps coming in.  Compassion Connection has already sorted out stacks of food for the various baskets and packages that will be made by Italian Club and Spanish Honor Society.

Compassion Connection collected donations from its members to fill shoeboxes with gifts for underprivileged children through Operation Christmas Child.  20 boxes were filled with little stuffed animals, boxes of crayons, hair ribbons, toothbrushes, tooth paste, bar soap, knit gloves, and candy.

The Italian Club hosted its annual Festivale Culinario, an event in which Preston students interact with members of the elderly community. Italian Club members serve their guests beverages, Italian pastries, and other hors d'oeuvres. The guests, especially the ladies, were thrilled to take photos with Preston girls! Playing bingo, socializing with one another, both the guests and the Preston students enjoyed an afternoon filled with laughter and shared stories!  

The pace is picking up for Preston’s food drive! Homerooms compete to bring in the most canned goods and bags of rice! Compassion & Connection members arrange the items of food and keep an accurate record to track the progress! It’s incredible  that in just one week Preston students have brought in 639 pounds! Throughout the course of the drive, all donated foods will be distributed among different organizations, churches, and charities.

 Our women of dignity, honor, respect, and compassion represented Preston High School at Orchard Beach’s Walk For Breast Cancer Awareness. Rather than concentrating their energy in one cause, Preston’s compassion is felt by all in need, despite geographical, language, and religious barriers.  Our Cheerleaders even cheered for the cause!  A special thank you to Preston's Athletic Department and Italian Club for organizing the pink Tshirts.

The students and faculty have started off the 2017 Food Drive on a very positive note.  Just in the first week 639 lbs of food were donated.  Compassion Connection members are already sorting donated foods, getting them ready for distribution to the various organizations that count on it. 

This week, another charitable act took the form of hurricane relief for Puerto Rico. The proceeds from two FoodFest Friday collections totaled $135.  They were used to purchase needed items that are being collected by Preston's World Relief Club.  Not only do we embrace those in need at the community level, but Preston’s compassion reaches over sea.

Once the calendar reaches October, the acts of compassion officially commence at Preston High School! The Italian club crafted goodie bags to distribute to the elderly community at Preston's bingo night. Also, members sold pink tickets, including lip care items and hair extension, to support breast cancer awareness.

Preston's annual food drive began as well. Last year, the Preston community collected 8823 lbs of canned goods, rice, and other food items. This year, the standard has been set for 9000 lbs among the 482 students and 59 faculty members. Students were exhilarated by a sense of purpose and duty during Food Drive Assembly Sing-a-long!

Preston's most popular club, Compassion Connection, sponsors an endless amount of fundraising events, such as the bake sale in the photo. The members contribute by bringing in exlusively home baked goods to be sold. There are very few times when a Compassion Connection bale sale doesn't sell out!

The proceeds from this bake sale will fund the many projects Compassion Connection will endeavor this fall, such as personal fall themed packages for senior citizens. Compassion Connection embraces all members of society through their acts of charity and kindness! 

PHS students really make Preston's Liturgy a captivating experience. The choir provided us with beautiful and engaging songs. Miranda Y. Martinez stated that "she is an alter server because she enjoys serving her Lord and the Preston community."

Liturgy is an opportunity for our community to congregate in the name of the Lord. This year's Liturgy of the Holy Spirit included plaques that represent the members of Preston's family. We started this school year unified, singing songs of praise, and celebrating our faith. 

Preston's Food Fest Friday is opportunity for students to donate their spare change to particular cause every Friday in exchange for a lollipop. This is a small way in which Preston's club, Compassion & Connection, make a difference in a world full of people in need.

The past two weeks’ proceeds made a $166 donation to The National Catholic Education Association's hurricane relief efforts possible. "Sometimes the smallest things take up the most room in your heart" -Winnie the Pooh