Courtesy of Mrs. Lori Wilson
Question: When is it okay for teenage girls to be running around at midnight? Answer: When they are members of the Convent of the Sacred Heart Midnight Run Club. The Midnight Run Club, led by junior Isabella Libassi, participates in midnight runs and breakfast runs to collect and distribute donations of clothing, toiletries, and food to the homeless of New York City. The club is a part of the Midnight Run Organization, which offers meals, clothing, showers, medical care, and counseling to those in need.
The Midnight Run Club incorporates volunteers from the Lower, Middle, and Upper School. Sacred Heart students work with thousands of other volunteers from churches and schools in Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey.
Midnight Run’s mission focuses on human support, creating trust and understanding between volunteers and the displaced. As well as collecting supplies, the volunteers learn to see beyond the burdens of their personal lives and recognize the homeless as struggling citizens.
“Students should be interested in joining the club because it is truly a great organization which allows students to help the needy of New York City in a personal way,” Isabella said. “By directly meeting the homeless to deliver their supplies, it creates a bond between the homeless and the Midnight Run volunteer.”
On a midnight run, volunteers travel by bus to several locations in New York City and distribute items from the bus. The homeless wait in line to request specific items that they need. Student volunteers depart from Sacred Heart at 8:30 pm and typically do not return until 1:00 am.
The Midnight Run club additionally hosts breakfast runs, which begin at 6:30 am and end at 12:00 pm. During a breakfast run, students line up outside of the bus and work at stations to distribute clothing, food, or drinks. The homeless go to each station and request certain items. Unlike the midnight runs, breakfast runs are hosted in a single location.
Courtesy of Mrs. Lori Wilson
“Participating in a breakfast run was so much fun. I was able to directly communicate with people in need and it helped me realize how blessed and lucky I am,” sophomore Alana Maguire said.
The club raises money by hosting an annual waffle breakfast and a civvies day. Civvies days allow students to wear non-uniform clothing, as long as they donate a few dollars to the Midnight Run organization. The money raised is used to purchase new clothing items such as undershirts and underwear.
Students who are not members of the club can get involved with the Midnight Run by bringing in donations, supporting their fundraising projects, and volunteering to go on a run to New York City.
– Holly Roth, Staff Writer
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Charity from the heart – The Midnight Run Club
November 7, 2013
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