Community Service

Philosophy/Purpose

All students are required to fulfill community service hours each year while attending SJCHS.  he purpose of this requirement is to give the students an opportunity to exercise the values of Jesus Christ as exemplified by St. Joseph the Worker.  Service is a distinguishing part of the Christian life.  “I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.”  (John 13:15)

All students who are entering at Grade 9 are expected to have 110 hours of service documented and on file in the Campus Ministry Office at the time of graduation. The hours required will be adjusted proportionately for a student admitted after their first semester of ninth grade.

St. Joseph Service Program

At St. Joseph Catholic High School, we strive to develop students that are spiritually developed, intellectually integrated, personally mature, and socially engaged. Through our service program we strive to engage our students with those on the margins of society. This service is to give students a deeper understanding of community, awareness, and responsibility. All students are required to engage in community service each year while attending SJCHS. The purpose of this requirement is to give the students an opportunity to exercise the values of Jesus Christ as exemplified by St. Joseph the Worker. Service is a distinguishing part of the Christian life. “For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you.” (John 13:15).

Each year will take on one of these charisms and the service program will culminate with a senior service encounter.

Freshmen: Community – 20 hours – (includes day of service)

The purpose of this year is to build a sense of community as a freshman class.  This communal vocation will grow in the confines of the school and in the local Ogden community.  Freshmen will be required to attend two half day retreat on two first Fridays. During the first day the freshmen will build their community as a class and as a St. Joseph student.  This will then be the fuel to have freshmen get out into the local Ogden community to do service in the second semester.

Sophomore: Awareness – 25 hours – (includes day of service)

During two first Fridays, sophomore students will continue their social responsibility and understanding through a deeper awareness of the needs of our world. This year is focused and has at its center a sense of awareness of those on the margins of society.  This awareness is fostered through two half day programs that will challenge and engage students.  The first programmed day will set up a poverty simulation that will allow students to have a more active encounter with what poverty looks like in this country. The second program will again be an engagement with the Ogden community at large.

Junior: Responsibility – 40 hours – (includes day of service)

Junior year will require students to take on an organization that St. Joseph’s has pre-approved.  Students will be required to complete 25 hours of service over the course of the year.  They will be required to work with this organization repetitively over the course of their junior year.  In order to take on a more individual responsibility in the Ogden community, students will be required to complete this service requirement outside of school hours. The organizations students can choose from range from St. Joseph Catholic Elementary to Catholic Community Services.

Senior: Service Encounter – 50 hours – (includes senior service project)

The pinnacle of the St. Joseph Catholic High School service program is the Senior Service Encounter.  This encounter is meant to give students a more intentional understanding of the community at large.  During this experience students will develop through pastoral, intellectual, human, and spiritual formation. They will take a week off in January for their Senior Service Project.  The second semester students will write a research paper in their theology class reflecting on their experience over the course of that week. This will coordinate with their senior retreat experience.

ACCEPTABLE SERVICES BUT NOT LIMITED TO:

Most nonprofit service organization, hospital work, volunteering at a nursing home, community service through churches, approved school sponsored events, volunteering at the library, organized food drives, share the Harvest, Balloon Festival, altar serving/ushering, working at any St. Joseph Campus, Eucharistic Ministry, volunteering at the animal shelter, Kids Can project, volunteering at Youth Impact, hospice work, church choir, work for the Christmas Village, Habitat for Humanity, Key Club sponsored events, St. Patrick’s Day Parade and/or tutoring in a supervised school setting.

NON-ACCEPTABLE SERVICES BUT NOT LIMITED TO:

Organizations that contradict Catholic teachings, child care for family members or any other work for family members, school plays if part of the class or not, house sitting, pet care other than the animal shelter, anything you are required/expected to do to be part of a group or organization: Boy Scouts/Girl Scouts to earn badges, student government, athletic team fundraisers, and/or anything you receive compensation for doing.