He’s one of four students to travel to D.C. to accept national honor
Kenny Dundorf of Hillsborough was one of four students who traveled to the nation’s capital to accept a national award for charity and social services for Immaculata High School’s Campus Ministry.
The Somerville school’s Campus Ministry was honored by the Basilica National Shrine of Immaculate Conception with its Charity and Social Services Award. Five schools in the nation were selected and 40 dioceses submitted nominees. The program was initiated by Pope Benedict XVI’s desire to recognize the charitable acts of youth.
Immaculata is the only school in the program’s history to be selected twice. Founded in 1962, Immaculata adopted its motto: Unitas Caritas (Unity through Charity) and has integrated service into its campus ministry, academic, music and athletic programs.
Each year through Campus Ministry, Immaculata students log in more than 25,000 hours in service, serving in soup kitchens, cooking for the poor, participating in JusticeworX, leading retreats, visiting nursing homes, building homes, collecting food, cleaning up the shore area, working with the handicapped, shopping for the elderly, and delivering furniture.
Four students — seniors from the Campus Ministry Board — represented Immaculata at the Basilica’s ceremony in Washington, D.C. They included Anthony Cracchiolo of Peapack, Erin Cummins of Bridgewater, Kenny Dundorf of Hillsborough and Lisa Slobodzian of Somerset.
’”Attending the ceremony and receiving the award among such strong candidates made me really proud of Immaculata,” says Erin. “ Campus Ministry at Immaculata has taught us so well how to live a life of service and we will carry that lesson for the rest of our lives.”
Sr. Mary Virginia Quinn, head of the school’s theology department, said seeing the students receive the honor was a special moment for Immaculata.
” I was filled with joy and pride when Cardinal Wuerl of Washington D.C. presented our school with the plaque and medal,” she said. “It was an experience of a lifetime for all of us.”
Campus Ministry at Immaculata began in 1993 under the leadership of Director Helen Sanford. The program, based on the church’s social justice mission and the Gospels, reaches the needy in schools, community, state and nation.