The Montini Catholic High School’s Varsity Boys Basketball Team took a break from their regular routine to show their appreciation for the many soldiers fighting for the United States in Afghanistan. The Varsity Boys Basketball Coach, Brian Opoka, the team, and Team Manager Rose Speidel, partnered with Montini Teacher, Mrs. Laraine Parker (former Campus Minister at Driscoll Catholic High School) for a service project titled “Live Jesus In Our Hearts.”
Mrs. Laraine Parker comments on this project, “At Driscoll, we did this outreach service to alum who were serving overseas. We began at the very start of the Iraq War, twice a year. I truly enjoy working with Coach Brian Opoka and the team at Montini Catholic as their Spiritual Leader. Brian encourages his team to be involved in services and thought this is a great way to reach out to soldiers whose average age is around 21 years old.”

The team put together boxes of hard candy, travel size Kleenex, gum (which was the number one request), hand sanitizer, small hand-held games, dental supplies, puzzle books, AA batteries, and lip blam (which was the number two request). The team also wrote letters to the soldiers.
“We end daily class prayer with the phrase “Live Jesus In Our Hearts.’ To me, I believe this means, and should be modeled to our young men and women, that we should reach out to those in need whenever we can. The soldiers who receive these boxes are young (20-25 years in age). We hope our young men can identify with their feelings of being so far from home. This project is a wonderful way of letting our soldiers serving overseas that we appreciate what they are doing for us, so we may continue to live a life of freedom here in the States. The particular group of soldiers that we are sending these care packages and letters to are in a ‘bare-bones’ environment. This project helps our young men here learn about what these young soldiers are going through and the danger they are in, so far away form home as they serve.”
Coach Brian Opoka commented on this experience, “We did this service project in lieu of practice today. Our team understands the importance of providing service to our community and supporting our soldiers overseas.”