News

School project builds faith, shelter funds

By Sam Lucero
Compass Staff

	CATECHISM CD: Xavier High School freshman Billy Ralph holds a copy of the CD-ROM he is selling as part of a school project. (Sam Lucero photo)
	Place your order To place your order of "In the Light of Christ: Exploring the Catholic Catechism as a Young Adult," send a check for $9.95 to Xavier High School, 1600 W. Prospect Ave., Appleton, WI 54914. Make check payable to Xavier High School.

APPLETON -- Putting Scripture into action. That's one way to describe Billy Ralph's project at Xavier High School. Ralph was one of 20 Xavier students and one teacher to receive a $100 bill from Principal Matt Reynebeau last November as part of a yearly outreach project.

Now in its third year, the project is based on the New Testament's Parable of the Talents. In the parable, a master gives three servants money - talents - and returns from his travels to learn that two of the three invested the funds and doubled their money while a third buried his money in the ground.

The Xavier students and teacher were told to donate the money directly to a charitable cause or use it to make more money and then donate it.

Ralph, with Reynebeau's assistance, used his $100 to purchase 100 interactive CD-ROMs that include the entire text of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, plus video segments that depict young adults making good choices based on the catechism.

Ralph's goal is to sell the CD-ROMs at a cost of $7.95 ($9.95 if ordered by mail), which should bring in about $795. He plans to donate the money to Harbor House Domestic Abuse Programs of Appleton.

Reynebeau said he received a copy of the CD-ROM, titled "In the Light of Christ," from the National Catholic Education Association. It is sold by Good Will Publishers, Inc.

The CD-ROMs can be purchased by parents, grandparents and other relatives and as gifts for young adults, said Ralph.

"I didn't want to be the guy who buried (his money) in the ground," said Ralph about his decision to spend it on the CD-ROMs. "I wanted to do something. I had been thinking about a number of things, whether it be a raffle or a bake sale."

Other students chose raffles and bake sales, said Ralph. One student, senior Marc Lonergan, along with Xavier band director Kevin Peters, pooled their money and, with the help of band members, sponsored a school dance in December. The dance netted $1,320. However, additional donations and matching funds brought the total amount up to $3,220. The money was used to purchase phone cards for troops in Iraq.

To facilitate orders, Ralph created a Web site, www.thecommunitypage.com/light.

"You can buy a catechism (on the site) using Pay Pal," said Ralph. "I picked Harbor House because I thought it was a really good cause. Not everybody has a family that loves them, as I do."

Ralph, a freshman at Xavier and son of Bill and Patricia Ralph, said the CD-ROM uses Acrobat and QuickTime software. "You can play videos that show young adults doing things to help the community," he said. "It also has a question-and-answer session."

As of last week, Ralph said he had sold nine CD-ROMS.

"I haven't really advertised it towards kids," he said. "I've advertised it towards parents, like a gift to their kids. I don't know many teenagers who would buy the catechism, but I know parents that would buy it for their children. They would see the value when they get older."

Since Reynebeau started the project three years ago, it has received rave reviews from the community. This year, a former school librarian, Donna Paltzer, read about the project in the local paper and donated $500. "So we will be giving out $2,600 next school year," said the principal.

Reynebeau sees three benefits to the project.

"Students will look outside themselves to determine what needs there are in our community and beyond," he said. "They develop organizational and leadership skills (and) build on their entrepreneurial skills."

Students also realize that they can make a difference, he added.

"I am always impressed with what students do with the money and how much additional money they make," said Reynebeau. "After all, these students are selected randomly from our student body. They are not students who volunteer and may already have the skills to organize a project."

As for Ralph, he sees his fund-raising effort as a way to return the gifts he's been given.

"I feel like I haven't been able to do a whole lot to give back, so if I can do a bit more and make some people happy, I think that would make me feel good," he said.