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I am a proud 1994 graduate of Boston College High School in Dorchester.  While I don't keep in touch with anyone from there, the time I spent there was so formative and memorable.  The other day, the school hosted an Alumni Day of Service and I was very excited to take part.  Alumni were invited back to campus for lunch and prayer and to then go offsite to perform some service at the Greater Boston Food Bank.  I went because of the opportunity to go back to BC High but also to get some ideas to do something similar here at Trinity High School.

I arrived at the school around 11:30am and we all went around and introduced ourselves and indicated who our favorite teacher was.  My AP French teacher was there so I joked that I should say it was him but I mentioned my chemistry and Algebra II teacher, Mr. Dempsey.  Mr. Dempsey was a legend of BC High and literally larger than life (his nickname I guess was "Fat Jack").  I prayed that I would have him as a teacher some day and as luck would have it, I had him twice my junior year as the school needed someone to teach one class of Algebra II so he took on the section in addition to teaching chemistry.  The funny thing is that I did horribly in those classes but Mr. Dempsey was so fun and such a good teacher that I consider him to be one of my favorite teachers at the school.

After introductions, we had a delicious lunch and I chatted with some guys from the classes of 1969 and 1971.  Following a brief prayer service and blessing, we headed over to the Greater Boston Food Bank.  The Food Bank is located just off 93, next to the Suffolk County Prison!  It is an 117,000 square foot facility, almost double the size of the one we have here in Manchester, and serves over 500 food pantries and agencies in Eastern Massachusetts.  Following a brief orientation, we were given our jobs.  Food is put out on a giant conveyor belt and you sort it the food into boxes by category.  After you fill a box to a certain weight, you have another person weigh the box, label it, and send it off.  In about 90 minutes, we sorted close to 6,000 pounds of food.  After this, we headed back to campus for a brief prayer in the chapel and we were on our way by 4pm.

I already have begun planning events like this for Lent - one for parents namely in early March so stay tuned.