Community Corner
OLPH Teacher Volunteers to be “Homeless”
It certainly wasn’t a typical “night out" for OLPH 5th grade teacher, Mr. Tom Rolando. To bring awareness and support to the plight of the homeless in Howard County, he sacrificed his warm bed and roof over his head by spending a very chilly night with just a sleeping bag on the grounds of Our Lady of Perpetual Help School. Starting in the late afternoon, he got only a short break to go to OLPH Parish Soup Supper for dinner, then he was be back out for the rest of the night, accompanied for a while by his son, Tommy, a student at Mount St. Joseph's High School. His inspiration came from a connection with Grassroots Crisis Intervention Center, a 24-hour service that helps individuals and families in crisis. School students and families streamed in all evening to visit and drop off donations and supplies for our homeless neighbors. Mr. Rolando raised more than $750 for the Grassroots Crisis Intervention Center and collected close to 1,000 toiletries. Students at OLPH School certainly learned a valuable lesson about sacrifice, service, and charity during this important season of Lent.