For the first time ever, St. Joseph High School students participated in their inaugural Grad Service Project week, that took place April 16th to 20th. This year, they chose to raise awareness and support for the Smiles Thru Lindsey Foundation.

The goal of the Grade 12 students was to leave behind a legacy of encouraging students to make positive and healthy choices, in hopes of creating a “ripple” effect throughout their feeder school communities and the City of Red Deer.

It is safe to say, with close to 1,301 students from St. Joseph High School and their feeder schools taking part in their week-long roster of events, the “ripple effect” was felt by many.

On April 16th, Rick More, founder of the Smiles Thru Lindsey Foundation, kicked-off the Grad Service Project week and the Unplug for Mental Health event, with an engaging presentation about the Foundation and effects of cellphone usage and social media on mental health.

The Unplug for Mental Health cellphone-free day saw 161 staff and students “drop” and “unplug” from their cellphones for a whole day. The event aimed to provide a safe community where staff and teachers could engage in meaningful conversations with one-another, rather than sending an email or text, as well as learn how to manage the amount of time they spent on social media in a healthy way.

On April 17th St. Joseph High School “took over” State & Main (south) for their Restaurant Takeover event. The event sold out in less than a week and in ticket sales alone raised $750.00. Food sales within the three-hour event reached $5851.01 with State & Main donating 10 per cent ($585.10) towards the Smiles Thru Lindsey Foundation. Silent auction donations reached a total of $2,250.00. The event included several “celebrity servers” including Ken Foster, Supt. Red Deer RCMP, Lloyd Lewis, HLCol 41 Signal Regiment (and President Todayville), Ken McMullen, Fire Chief, Damien Lagrange, Deputy Fire Chief, St. Joseph High School Principal, Mr. Graeme Daniel, and Vice Principals, Mr. Ian Stang and Mrs. Teresa Borchers.

On April 18th students and staff grabbed some props and cracked their best smile at the on-site photobooth. The photos were then put on a smile wall to highlight their entire school community. This wall will continue to be showcased throughout the month of April.

Community spirit was in full-swing on Thursday, April 19 for the Movin’ for Mental Health day as St. Joseph High School welcomed over 450 students from their feeder schools including St. Patrick’s Community School, Father Henri Voisin School, St. Teresa of Avila School, St. Thomas Aquinas Middle School and École Mother Teresa Catholic School. Grade 5 and 9 students came dressed in their best disco workout gear, as they joined Grade 12 students and learned how to how to make healthy choices by looking after both their physical and mental health, they learned how those factors can have a positive impact on overall mental health and wellness. Students were instructed through three different fitness sessions including POUND, Piloxing and Zumba and could provide an optional toonie donation towards the Smiles Thru Lindsey Foundation. Following the fitness sessions, Alberta Health Services dieticians presented to students about the importance of healthy eating through an interactive skit.

The ripple effect was still felt by many ending the week off on a high note with the Let It Ripple event that took place on April 20th. Close to 300 Grade 9 students from their feeder schools including St. Patrick’s Community School, St. Thomas Aquinas Middle School and St. Gregory the Great School were led through a variety of presentations in this strength-based event. They learned how to increase their confidence upon entering into Grade 10 next year, their unique and individual character strengths and again, the importance of movement on overall mental health. There were a variety of presenters from Red Deer College, Alberta Health Services and Amped2Play.

There was also a week-long bottle drive which brought the total amount of monies raised to $4,430.00.

“Our focus going into our Grad Service Project week was to create a safe and caring environment where our school communities could come together for a common goal of raising support and awareness for mental health. Our Grade 12 students wanted to leave behind their own kind of legacy of helping to educate youth about making positive and healthy choices for their overall wellness. The leadership and passion that was shown to the nearly 1,301 students who participated in our Grad Service Project week, was truly inspiring. As a school, we feel that we not only helped to create a ripple effect amongst our school communities, but also the Central Alberta community at large,” said Event Coordinator, Ashley Visscher at St. Joseph High School.

-Submitted by Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools