About US - Service

Answering a Call to Serve

St. Giles fosters a nurturing environment that educates the whole child, promotes family commitment and cultivates long-term involvement in the school, the parish and the Catholic faith. St. Giles students are involved in community service projects from the earliest grades through 8th grade.

Outside of the classroom, St. Giles students embrace opportunities to give to those less fortunate in the community. Living true to the Catholic faith, students develop their own ideas to help others throughout the year. Below is a sampling of the many projects in which our students have participated in the past year:

• St. Giles 8th graders performed hundreds of hours of community service in preparation for receiving

the Sacrament of Confirmation. Projects included ministering to refugees, volunteering at the Animal

Care League, and assisting with Pre-School Religious Education and After-School Art Club. Each week,

a team of students bakes cookies for a local homeless shelter.

   •  54 fifth through eighth grade students volunteered as altar servers
   •  50 students volunteered as crossing guards
   •  Students collected items for the Women’s Guild Layette Project benefitting local, low-income mothers
   • Jazz Band One shared their musical talents at the first annual Lions Pride auction
   •  Jazz Band One and Wind Ensemble performed in concert at Shriners Hospital for Children.
   •  First graders read 100 books to benefit the Scholastic Classroom Cares which donates books to those

in need
• Third graders wrote letters to soldiers in Iraq and sent Christmas cards to wounded veterans at

Walter Reed hospital

• Fourth graders contributed to the United Nations Foundation’s Nothing But Nets program and knitted

blankets for seriously ill children via Project Linus

• Fifth graders collected 108 used coats for the Kuumba Emmanuel Coat Drive. Coats were repaired and

then donated to several Chicago schools

• Fifth and Sixth graders collected over $550 to be used toward the construction of St. Peter’s Church in

Kapyera , Zambia
• The entire school participated in food drives sponsored by Amate House, a young adult volunteer program,

the Oak Park Food Pantry and a Catholic Schools collection for Hurricane Relief

• Once again, our school participated in the Thanksgiving Project where meals are provided for the families

in need. The first through sixth graders made placemats and decorations, while the seventh and eighth

grades made goodie bags for the families to take home.