St. Anthony HS students donate to Miller Children’s Hospital
Students from St. Anthony High School in Long Beach are taking a hands-on approach to learning about the importance of charitable giving and helping others thanks to the guidance of their teacher, Brett Minter.
Students from Minter’s six sophomore religion classes decided to embrace the “lesson of being selfless” by collecting donations for Miller Children’s Hospital in Long Beach throughout the month of March.
The donated items included crayons, markers, Play-Doh, art sets, puzzles, bubbles and other items recommended by the staff at the hospital. By the end of the month, the students had collected enough gifts for the young patients to fill 20 large boxes.
Six St. Anthony students were selected to accompany Minter to Children’s Hospital to hand-deliver the boxes of donated gifts and to visit with some of the patients in the playroom. The students had the opportunity to spend time with several patients, doing crafts with them and playing games together, and simply talking with them. The patients, they reported, seemed very happy to receive unexpected visitors.
The participating students all expressed their desire to repeat the experience, and agreed that “the act of giving to others seems to turn into a gift to [ourselves].”
High school students invited to interfaith youth program at CSULB
Do you know high school students who are interested in expanding their knowledge of other faiths and strengthening their leadership skills? The South Coast Interfaith Council (SCIC), in partnership with New Vision Partners, will offer the opportunity for students to do both at its June 16-18 Interfaith Youth Leadership Initiative at California State University Long Beach.
The three-day program will bring together high school students from different faith traditions who are interested in building skills in interfaith dialogue, leadership, activism and conflict resolution. Participants will visit different local houses of worship and act out their faith through service to the larger community.
The program will take place 9 a.m.-5 p.m. daily June 16-18. Upon successful completion of the program, participants will earn a $100 scholarship to apply to the college of their choice.
The program is free of charge and is open to all high school students. The application deadline is May 15. To apply online, go to: iyli.weebly.com. For more information, contact the SCIC, (562) 983-1665.
Established in 1953, the South Coast Interfaith Council is the oldest and largest interfaith council in Southern California. To date the SCIC is associated with approximately 140 faith communities and organizations across more than 35 cities. For additional information about the SCIC, go to: www.scInterfaith.org.
Holy Innocents School presents first gala fundraiser May 30
Holy Innocents School in Long Beach will present its first fundraising gala celebration — “A Night Under the Stars” — on May 30.
Proceeds will fund technology upgrades for the school, scholarships for qualifying students, and needed physical education equipment.
The event (for ages 21 and older) will be held at The Grand Long Beach Event Center, located at 4101 E. Willow Street in Long Beach. Social hour and silent auction will begin at 6 p.m., followed by dinner at 7 p.m. and dancing at 8:30 p.m.
Tickets are $75 per person, or $700 for a table of 10. For information, call (562) 424-1018.
Fr. Boyle honored at Marymount California University
Jesuit Father Greg Boyle, founder and director of Homeboy Industries, was honored April 4 at Marymount California University in Rancho Palos Verdes, where they unveiled a one-of-a-kind sculpture created by renowned artist Meera Censor.
The sculpture, which will reside at Marymount, was a generous gift from the Sojka Family and the Sojka-Nikkel Commercial Realty Group.
Father Boyle is former pastor of Dolores Mission Church in Boyle Heights, where in 1988 he developed the parish’s “Jobs for a Future” campaign in an effort to offer positive alternatives for local gang-involved youth. In response to the civil unrest in Los Angeles in 1992, Father Boyle launched Homeboy Bakery to provide job training and work experience. Today, Homeboy Industries’ not-for-profit enterprises include Homeboy/Homegirl merchandise, Homeboy Farmers Markets and Homegirl Café.
‘Alice In Wonderland’ comes to St. Pius X-St. Matthias May 16-17
“Alice In Wonderland” will be presented May 16-17, 7 p.m. at St. Pius X-St. Matthias Academy by the Downey school’s performing arts department.
The play is based on the 1951 Disney film “Alice in Wonderland,” and the novels “The Adventure of Alice in Wonderland” and “Through the Looking Glass” by Lewis Carroll. All grade levels will participate in the production, as they did in last fall’s “11”, a play based on the events of Sept. 11, 2001.
A special private performance for partner middle schools will be presented May 15, 10:30 a.m. Tickets for the May 16-17 performances are $5 in advance or $7 at the door. St. Pius X-St. Matthias Academy is located at 7851 E. Gardendale St., Downey. Information: (562) 861-2271.
St. Mary Medical Center earns another ‘A’ rating in hospital safety
According to the latest Hospital Safety Score, Dignity Health St. Mary Medical Center in Long Beach has earned its fourth consecutive “A” rating in hospital safety. Compiled under the guidance of the nation’s leading experts on patient safety, and administered by The Leapfrog Group (an independent industry watchdog), the Hospital Safety Score is designed to rate how well hospitals protect patients from in-house accidents, errors, injuries and infections.
“From our Emergency Department to anywhere in the hospital, a patient receives top-quality service and is taken care of by people who believe in the healing power of kindness,” said Tom Salerno, president and CEO of St. Mary Medical Center.
The Hospital Safety Score uses 28 measures of publicly-available hospital safety data to produce a final A through F score representing a hospital’s overall capacity to keep patients safe from preventable harm. More than 2,500 U.S. hospitals were scored in spring of 2014, with approximately 32 percent receiving an “A” grade.
To see how Dignity Health St. Mary Medical Center’s safety score compares locally and nationally, and to access safety tips for patients and their loved ones, visit the Hospital Safety Score website at www.hospitalsafetyscore.org.
