This month, Sacred Heart Greenwich students honor veterans and support women involved in active military duty in commemoration of Veterans Day.  Despite restrictions, the Sacred Heart community continues to fulfill Goal Three of the Sacred Heart Goals and Criteria, “a social awareness which impels to action,” to help military families in the area and beyond.

Lower, Middle, and Upper School students, along with Sacred Heart alumnae, donated baby items, such as onesies and cribs, to The American Legion and the Veterans Affairs hospital, located in the Bronx, New York.  These organizations then distributed the items among local military families that are expecting a baby.  Students and families in the Sacred Heart community also created cards for veterans and active duty military to thank them for their service.

As Sacred Heart students are unable to volunteer or provide service in person this year, Mrs. Kerry Bader, Director of Upper School Social Justice and Service and Senior Seminar Service and Theology Teacher, works to keep the impetus behind multi-divisional outreach by focusing efforts on veterans in November.  Mrs. Bader explained the changes to this year’s service day activities.

“For the past two years, we have hosted a day of service that invited our students, families and alumnae to work together for the greater good,” Mrs. Bader said.  “Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are unable to offer in person service opportunities.  Instead, we are hosting a ‘baby shower’ for military families.”

Senior Mary O’Connor, Head of Community Service, took learning about this issue as an opportunity for her to gain a deeper understanding of the difficulties women in the military face.  She, along with Mrs. Bader, specifically chose to focus on women in the military for November’s service theme as it is pertains to students at an all-girls school.

“We decided it would only be fitting at an all-girls school to focus on the struggles faced uniquely by women in the military,” Mary said.  “Upon doing research, we identified many issues for women, particularly those who are with child while in military service.  I was thrilled to learn about and explore this topic and am super excited about the work we are doing here at Sacred Heart this month.”

Women make up 16 percent of the total enlisted force in the United States.  Often, their mental, physical, and military service needs, which differ from those of men in the military, are overlooked, according to militaryfamilieslearningnetwork.org.  Even more, pregnant women in the military are not given the medical assistance that they need such as prenatal or gynecological care, according to nvf.org.  Women in the military also face gender discrimination as one of their primary obstacles, causing them to be 20 times more likely than men to be assaulted during their military service.

Mary’s principal goal for this month’s service theme and collections was for her peers to become more informed about the challenges that women in the military face and to show appreciation for active duty military and veterans.

“My main goal for holding this ‘baby shower’ is that girls at Sacred Heart enjoy learning about this topic as much as I did and take something away from the experience that they didn’t know before,” Mary said.  “I personally have learned a lot from this month’s service and I hope that with continued enthusiasm and participation everyone at Sacred Heart finds the service we are doing just as meaningful as I did.”

Featured Image by Jacey Heffernan ’21