Scores of students raise money, awareness for homeless youth

More than 180 students from Saint Joseph High School, Metuchen, participated in the Covenant House International’s “Sleep Out” fundraiser to raise awareness for youth homelessness. 

There are many events on Saint Joe’s campus that are done to benefit the lives of others, but there are few as unique as Cardboard City.

Every year, students Sleep Out in Cardboard City on the basketball courts to bring awareness and understanding of the plight of homeless youth. Additionally, students raise money to benefit Covenant House, whose president and chief executive officer is Kevin Ryan, a 1985 graduate of Saint Joe’s.

“Our Campus Ministry Council works extremely hard to find organizations to support,” said Tracey Coudriet, director, Campus Ministry. “We try to find organizations that not only lineup with the mission of the Brothers of the Sacred Heart and the Catholic Church, but also ones that can provide an experience that our students will never forget. Covenant House International’s Sleep Out checks both of those boxes and more.”

This year, 180 students participated in the event, which is not only the most ever for a Saint Joe’s Cardboard City event, it set the record for the largest New Jersey Student Sleep Out.

In addition, led by student organizers Owen Blake and Alejandro Ruiz, both seniors, Saint Joe’s has raised $23,388, which is also a record for Cardboard City events on campus.

“I am very excited for Saint Joe’s to be recognized as the largest Sleep Out event in New Jersey,” Blake said. “The students are always very excited for the Sleep Out event. To us, it’s more than just a night out with our friends. Not only are we making an immediate impact, but we are experiencing a different part of life that we would not be able to do elsewhere. For one night, we are experiencing the hardships that so many around the world live with every single day. It’s an eye opening experience and one that I will never forget.”

For the students, much of the night was spent building their shelters out of cardboard and tape and doing necessary repairs when the inevitable structural failures occurred. Students also participated in a Student-led Prayer Service, created chemo bags as a service project for local hospitals and spent time chatting (and keeping warm) around the fire.

“Covenant House is a good cause because it does everything in the lens of Christianity,” Ruiz said. “It aligns with our school values. While helping the less fortunate, it is doing things the way Jesus commanded them to be. This event made me fall in love with Campus Ministry, so I wanted to make sure others, including the new freshman, experience the same love as I do.”