Alumnae Chapel

We welcomed Gwyn Fisher, class of 1996 today. Gwyn is the executive director of MPact Memphis an organization tasked with engaging and empowering the local young, professional community to make a difference in Memphis. Gwyn's journey has taken her around the world and "back home," and she shared her passion for making Memphis the kind of city that we'd all be glad to come home to ...

St. Mary's Community Fund

For our second chapel sponsored by the SMCF, Barbara King director the Exchange Club joined our community. Mrs. King (a mother of two alumnae) spoke about the work of the Exchange Club to interrupt the cycle of abuse in families. She expressed her gratitude for the money given by the SMCF on behalf of the whole St. Mary's community.

This was also the day to kick-off the "Stuff and Name the Turkey" fundraiser. A mock-Glee television show inspired the girls to be a part of this wonderful annual event!

LifeBlood

Our second outside speaker of the week: through the work of the Latin Club, we welcomed Shelley Sumner from LifeBlood to share about the literally life-giving work of our local blood bank. She challenged the girls to understand the need through a variety of "stand up if you ..." questions. Seeing the need played out (hypothetically) in our own community certainly brought the message home that we all can be heroes and we all should be donors.

The SMES Blood drive is on November 11. Won't you consider giving? You can save four lives, and the need is real.

Americorps

Thanks to the invitation of the tenth grade, whose focus is on environmental issues, the SMES community heard from a representative of Americorps. After watching a short video about the work and mission of this amazing organization, a young woman shared her personal, transforming experience of spending several months working all over the southeast. She told us about the work she had done and what it had meant to her life, and she also took a few questions from the crowd. We all caught a glimpse into this world of service to our country.

Operation Smile

We heard from an Upper School student and member of the St. Mary's Service Organization about Operation Smile, a global organization offering surgeries to children for the treatment of cleft palate and cleft lip. She spoke movingly of how she first became aware of the work being done, and how she pursued an opportunity for her own involvement as a student. After sharing the history of the organization, she challenged all of us to consider how we might support this group and their work.

Why Serve?

Head of School, Marlene Shaw challenged the MS and US students to consider what they "get" from giving.

"If you are like me, you wonder what can you do? How can I make a difference? Will my small contribution make any difference when others give so much? Most of our questions are about what we are doing for those we are helping. How we are going to make a difference in their lives.
Today----let’s think about community service differently? How will it make a difference in your life? Are you willing to learn something valuable from your service and reflect upon it? In fact, Service to others actually serves us. Service learning helps us as the volunteers to learn about ourselves."

Mrs. Shaw went on to recount a vivid encounter with a 20th century pioneer ...
"The evening I met Margaret Mead, she stood on stage and talked for an hour—smart, witty, and full of life, she was a gifted educator who cared deeply for humanity---all of humanity. When she finished her remarks, a man in the audience challenged her saying, “It sounds like you are asking us to love and care for each other---to be our brother’s keeper so to speak.”
Without hesitation, Margaret Mead in a strong voice replied. “Yes, Absolutely. You are to love and care for your brother---your sister---your neighbor, and every living creator that God has created.” Everyone in that room was silent listening to her words and moved by her passion. We knew we had just witnessed a truly special event. That night Margaret Mead went on to encourage us to engage in service to others because they need our help, but in fact, she encouraged us because she said that service would make us better people. That we would learn valuable lessons in service to others."

Community Service Trip

With pictures and stories, the thirteen girls who participated in this past summer's service trip to the Gulf Coast told the Middle and Upper School students all about their adventure. Working with Habitat for Humanity and Americorps volunteers, the students helped with the construction of two houses near Mobile, Alabama. From their telling, it seems that lessons about laminate flooring and grout went hand-in-hand with lessons about sweat equity and the gift of time to a greater cause.