Saint Ursula Academy's OJCL Participates in Out of the Darkness Walk
This year, members from the Saint Ursula Academy OJCL club attended the Out of the Darkness Walk at Sawyer point. Having never attended the event before, we had no idea what to expect, but were excited to get some early service events for OJCL in. We walked in and saw blue and white tents surrounding the perimeter of the event. In the middle was a bright green lawn where therapy dogs were scampering around in, people were enjoying music, and an all-around positive atmosphere was being created. To our right, Larosa's was giving away free pizza and to our left, Starbucks was offering free hot chocolate to any desiring customer. We initially met up at the Cincinnatus Statue with our fellow OJCLers and after taking a picture with our friend, Cincinnatus, we were ready to walk for a great cause! With our glow sticks in one hand and our rubber band bracelets on the other, we were prepared to walk "out of the darkness." It was inspiring to see the huge masses of people exit out of the original grounds and see the team shirts supporting lost loved ones. We all would look out and see a rainbow of colors, a spectrum of support. When first starting the walk, there were also bags with candles in them that people made in memory of their loved ones. To see positivity come out of negativity, those who attended agreed on how thankful we were for OJCL to bringing us to this incredible event. "To err is human, but to persist in that error is diabolical." To fight suicide we must address the errors in society and through walking for and supporting suicide prevention, all of OJCL is helping to bring light to the darkness that accompanies suicide. This was truly an inspiring event.
Saint Ursula Academy's OJCL at California Woods Preserve:
At first when our club arrived at California Woods Preserve, we noticed the beautiful nature preserve this wonderful Cincinnati Park contained, and were honored to be able to have a direct impact on the upkeep of the park. We were ready to get some clippers and cut down invasive honeysuckle, but it didn't take long to realize the task that lie in front of us would not be so easy. The head of the Nature Preserve handed some people pitchforks, others shovels and buckets, and gave several others the job of hauling the wheelbarrow to our starting point. The Saint Ursula girls there began by shoveling mulch into the wheelbarrows while most of the others went to rake the mulch. We then hauled the mulch up a steep hill to them. In groups of three we carried the wheelbarrow up multiple flights of stairs and dumped it on various parts of a trail ruined by excessive amounts of rain. As we continued to fill the trails, our arms, backs, and legs began to ache, but nothing could stop us from completing the trail. We completed the trail and throughout our work many people who were hiking thanked us for our efforts. It was gratifying to see the immediate help we were giving to our parks and how it benefited the community. We are especially thankful to OJCL for giving us this opportunity to do service for our community.
Right: OJCLers take part in the southwest region's Make a Difference Day of service at California Woods Nature Preserve organized by South Gubernator Julia Dean.
Saint Ursula Academy's OJCL Makes Bracelets for the Kelley O'Leary Center for Autism Spectrum Disorder.
This year, Saint Ursula Academy decided for our major service project we could make blue and white bracelets for the Kelley O'Leary Center for Autism Spectrum Disorder. We came together as a club on various days during lunch to hand make these braided bracelets. We then sold these bracelets throughout the week of December 5th and had a great response from our school. We sold over 100 bracelets and collected donations too. Each dollar we earned we donated directly to the hospital. It was amazing to see these bracelets through from the beginning to the end and help out at our local hospital, Children's Hospital, and support an amazing cause.
Saint Ursula Academy's OJCL Collects Items to Donate to Children's Hospital
During a week in January, Saint Ursula's OJCL club decided to help out more kids in our community. We chose to collect craft supplies to give to children at Cincinnati Children's Hospital. Members brought in themed pencils, erasers, nail polish, coloring books, and other fun items to deliver to the kids. Once all of the materials were brought in, we went to deliver the items. Knowing that we were directly helping kids in our community and putting smiles on their faces made each girl feel like she made a positive impact on the community.
37 OJCL TORCH: Chapter Updates Winter MMXVII https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjB6MPV-L3RAhVMNiYKHUL8A4EQjRwIBw&url=https%3A%2F%2Fmagistrabush.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F09%2F23%2Fjcl-t-shirt-contest%2F&psig=AFQjCNHBUl5DxFMgey96R-DH1Oh37W6Q0A&ust=1484356401987376
On a beautiful, sunny Saturday in mid-November, Latin scholars of Saint Ursula Academy gathered together at California Woods Nature Preserve with several Latin students of Cincinnati to make a difference! At first I was a little apprehensive as I am not the most outdoorsy girl and wasn't sure what to expect during this service project. I walked up to the shelter where the other OJCL members were and was overjoyed by the large turnout of SUA girls. With pink gloves on my hands and a wheelbarrow between them, I was ready to get down to business. With one Moeller student, some Summit students, and a Purcell Marian student, the Satin Ursula girls set out to a path in the woods where we were all assigned to clear the leaves and lay down new mulch. Doesn't sound too hard right? Wrong! Let me tell you right now, this was one hard and tiring experience. With some students stationed along the path to remove the withered leaves with large rakes, others, including me, were in charge of putting mulch into wheel barrows and pushing them up the hill to lay down. At first, we all really struggled with climbing up this mountain with wheelbarrows full of pounds and pounds of dirt. You could observe students slanted at almost a 45 degree angle trying to make it up. But soon, things got better with the arrival of one word, "teamwork." Once all of us started to help each other, things got a lot easier. One person would hold the wheelbarrow handles to keep the equipment upright while the others, stationed around, would keep the wheelbarrow in balance and lift it up the wide, gigantic stairs. This new idea, this teamwork, made a world of a difference. Before we knew it, we were clearing paths, putting down mulch, and helping the nature preserve with lightning speed. Not only were we pleased that we had this opportunity to help others, we were able to meet so many cool, new people! As the teamwork continued, so did conversation and comradery with people from all over the city. I even met this one guy who had joined the OJCL that week! The SUA girls were thrilled and told him all about convention and what to expect, eager to spread the excitement of the earnestly longed-for event. The hours passed with hard work and smiles and we all left the California Woods Nature Preserve with new friends, a sense of happiness, an enthusiasm for convetnion, and the readiness for a relaxing nap.