High School Students Demonstrate Remarkable Generosity with Massive Donation Drive
Students at St. Thomas of Villanova Catholic High School in LaSalle have demonstrated extraordinary compassion and community spirit by collecting hundreds of essential supplies for people in need. The donation event, which took place on Thursday, March 12, 2026, saw students loading a truck full of donated items destined for Second Chance Ministry, a Windsor-Essex non-profit organization that provides both practical and spiritual support to individuals facing poverty and emotional challenges.
A School-Wide Initiative of Compassion
The donation drive was organized as part of a school-wide initiative to encourage students to support local charities during the Lenten season. According to Jolene Coste, the Catholic studies department head at Villanova, students from Grades 9 through 12 contributed hundreds of essential items over a two-week period.
"It's absolutely overwhelmingly generous how much quality supplies that they brought in," Coste told local media. "Oftentimes we just take for granted all of the things that they brought in. It's pretty incredible."
The donated items included:
- Kleenex boxes
- Diapers and baby wipes
- Feminine hygiene products
- Deodorants
- Towels
Two Decades of Charitable Tradition
This act of generosity is part of a long-standing tradition at St. Thomas of Villanova Catholic High School. Coste revealed that she began organizing donation drives in her classes approximately twenty years ago, initially creating "blessing bags" containing hygiene products, granola bars, and gift cards for donation to the Downtown Mission.
What started as classroom projects has since expanded to involve the entire religious studies department at the high school. These fundraising initiatives represent just one of many charitable activities that occur throughout the academic year at the institution.
Building Empathy and Lifelong Values
Beyond simply collecting donations, the initiative aims to sensitize students to the challenges faced by vulnerable members of their own community. Coste explained that discussions about poverty and vulnerability are central themes throughout the school's Catholicism classes.
"We talk about the poor and vulnerable in our society, and that's one of the big themes that we have throughout our Catholicism classes here," Coste said. "It's acknowledging that not every person is in a great economic situation and that we need to be thoughtful and mindful of that."
She emphasized how these experiences help students develop generosity that extends beyond academic requirements: "If they can maybe not go to the movies one night and spend that money instead to help somebody else, then that's about their volunteerism and that's about their generosity."
Fostering Lifelong Commitment to Service
The impact of these charitable initiatives extends far beyond the school years. Coste noted that participation in such activities allows students to exceed the mandatory 40 hours of community service required by the curriculum.
"This is the stuff that allows them to go above and beyond the 40 hours of volunteering that they're obligated to do," she explained. "This is the stuff that they can do, and they feel really good about helping somebody."
Perhaps most significantly, these experiences often plant seeds for lifelong charitable engagement. "For many of the students, they don't just stop after they do it here," Coste observed. "Down the road and into adulthood, they become lifelong givers."
The donation drive at St. Thomas of Villanova Catholic High School serves as a powerful example of how educational institutions can foster both academic excellence and compassionate citizenship, creating positive ripple effects throughout the broader community.
