On Monday, the eleventh grade participated in a day of service by preparing brown bag lunches for Fr. Bill’s Place in Quincy and stocking and cleaning food pantry shelves for Project Just Because. For many, the day was an amazing opportunity to give back to the community and practice Montrose’s month of service and solidarity.
For the group who stayed at Montrose, making sandwiches was a wonderful experience to practice the corporal works of mercy. “I liked making sandwiches because it gave us all a sense of community and purpose,” Lorena Ortiz ‘26 commented. They made 80 sandwiches and put snacks and treats in the brown bag lunches, far surpassing expectations in that time frame. Others who stayed at Montrose made Valentine’s Day cards for the Thomas Upham House, a local nursing home. Kayla Dam ‘26 remarked: “It was really fun to make cards with different, interesting designs.”
The other group of juniors went to Project Just Because, a food pantry in Hopkinton that provides food and other necessities to those in need. Project Just Because has a room for those in need to get food, a country store, and an extensive inventory filled with donations. There, the juniors organized boxes, labeled items, and cleaned. Many enjoyed the process and feeling of making a true difference. Kendra Baker ‘26 corroborated this sentiment: “Helping to organize the boxes in Project Just Because was an amazing way to give back to our community. It was a really great experience for making a positive difference.”
The employees expressed appreciation for the juniors’ help, commenting on how much they had accomplished in an hour and a half.
Overall, this year’s day of service was a wonderful experience for all involved and truly brought Montrose’s mission to life!
By Callie Jeffery ‘26, Contributing Writer
