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Word
of God Catholic School Receives Grant
For Promoting Kindness Among Students
$20,000 for implementing programs that encourage students to be kind to others
On Wednesday, May 20, at 10
a.m., Red Robin will present Word of God Catholic School with a $20,000 grant
for being named the 2008-2009 Red Robin U-ACT(r) Champion School for their
efforts to encourage and promote kindness among students throughout the school
year. Word of God is located at
“We were just delighted
to be selected,” said Sister Mary Victor Powers, SC, principal at Word of God.
“One of our parents first saw the information on line, downloaded it
and gave the information to Terry Ward. She
is the language arts teacher for sixth, seventh and eighth grades and moderator
of our service organization, which we have instead of a student council for
grades six through eight. She took
photos and documented all the activities of this year, submitted them to Red
Robin and we won – simply for doing the things that we do all the time.
Just this past Saturday about 20 student volunteers came out for
Swissvale’s community clean up day.
It’s a wonderful theme that Red Robin has decided to sponsor.
We have been praying hard for the school to win something, so I think
this award is also an answer to our prayers,” Sister Mary Victor added.
U-ACT, or Unbridled Acts of Kindness, is
Red Robin's character-building initiative that aims to inspire junior high and
middle school students about the value of being kind to others. The mission of
Red Robin's U-ACT Champion Program is to promote positive behavior by fostering
a sense of neighborliness inside and outside of the school setting, and to honor
schools that exemplify what it means to be ‘Unbridled.’
Participants of U-ACT implemented programs that demonstrate how they are
bringing Red Robin's ‘Unbridled’ philosophy to life inside and outside of
their school setting. Word of God Catholic School was named the U-ACT Champion
School by implementing several kindness programs including recognizing
individual students for doing kind things for each other and creating an “Acts
of Kindness” bulletin board that showcased Unbridled Acts performed by
students. They also participated in community outreach including donating hats,
scarves and gloves to Angels’ Place in Pittsburgh; planting trees and cleaning
up the community in Swissvale; collecting books to donate to local doctor's
offices, among many other ‘Unbridled’ programs.
“It is not surprising to have one of
our schools win this award,” said Father Kris Stubna, Secretary for Education
for the Diocese of Pittsburgh. “Catholic education emphasizes not only
academic excellence, but faith, values, character building and community
service. This academic year we
focused on building for the future. These
students are our future, and it is gratifying to find a corporation like Red
Robin supporting the values that we have held dear for more than 175 years in
the diocese.”
“We always speak of how our students
give back to the community, and many of our graduates continue to live and serve
in the communities where they grew up. It is worth noting that Word of God
School is a strong part of the Swissvale community,” added Dr. Robert Paserba,
Superintendent of Catholic Schools for the diocese.
“More than eighty-five percent of the students at the school belong to
the parish, with an enrollment of 220 students that is expected to remain about
the same for the next school year.”
Throughout the school year,
participating schools are asked to share Red Robin’s Unbridled culture with
their students by participating in program that promote kindness. At the end of
the year, schools are asked to submit a program binder outlining their efforts
during the school year for a chance to earn a grant anywhere from $500-$20,000.
Red Robin Gourmet Burgers first launched
the U-ACT Champion Program with the Colorado PTA in 2005 as a statewide program
for