Students Cook out of Love for Former Classmate

National Junior Honor Society students of St. Paul’s Lutheran School in Des Peres began cooking meals at Ronald McDonald House two years ago after a boy that was staying at the house because his brother was sick began attending St. Paul’s. They are now in their third year of preparing meals for the families that stay at the Ronald McDonald House in West County.

“It took almost a year for me to get us on the calendar,” says Denise Rice, coordinator for the National Junior Honor Society, “It is very competitive to get onto the schedule because everyone feels good about serving there.” The first year St. Paul’s served three times, last year five, and this year they are cooking and serving meals at the Ronald McDonald House eight times. Only 4-5 students and 2-3 adults can serve at one time, so students sign up for one cooking night during the year that works for them. Rice says she creates the menu, but the kids buy and donate all the ingredients. They also do all the prepwork and the cooking under adult supervision.

Cooking isn’t all they do, though. Two years ago, as well as this year, the students made and donated Build-a-Bears to the families that were staying at the house. This year, the students built 33 bears to donate to the families. “The real beauty of this project is that the students take such an active roll,” says St. Paul’s Marketing Coordinator, Gretchen McGinley. “The students buy the food themselves and donate it. They cook and clean up too. Plus, they each purchased a bear this year. That’s quite a commitment of time, money, and talents.” While this project began with a love for one of their own classmates, it has grown into a love of simply serving others. “Developing caring servant leaders is our mission here, and this is just one of the many ways we can live that out,” said McGinley, “it’s all just part of our mission in action.” Their next service date at the Ronald McDonald House will be Monday, December 16th.

For over 160 years, St. Paul’s Lutheran School, located at the intersection of Ballas and Manchester Roads in Des Peres, has created a legacy of providing excellent Christian education for children ages 6 weeks through eighth grade. St. Paul’s is committed to sharing Christ's love and providing an environment and opportunity for students to develop their God-given potential: spiritually, academically, physically, emotionally, and socially as they strive in their mission towards developing caring servant leaders. You can also visit them at www.stpaulsdesperes.org.