Community Service: Actions for a Better World

Every year, elementary school students take part in preparing Christmas baskets for families in need. A concrete and touching activity that introduces young people to solidarity from an early age. This allows them to experience, in a very tangible way, the joy of giving.

High school students participate in several local and community projects throughout their journey.

An annual event whose proceeds are donated to Corbeille Bordeaux-Cartierville, a local food assistance organization.

Organized to benefit Dans la rue, an organization that supports vulnerable young people in Montréal.

The Christmas projects are among the school’s most touching initiatives. From Grade 8 to Grade 11, students are paired with children from underprivileged Montréal schools. In the weeks prior to the visit, they exchange letters with their little godchild— often the very first real letter these children receive. On the big day, each student finds “their” child and leads games and crafts, they share a buffet lunch, and the arrival of Santa Claus caps the celebration. The day ends with bear hugs and misty eyes from the tears of joy. This year, students visited: des Cinq-Continents, Enfant-Soleil, Ludger-Duvernay and Peter Hall schools.

Volunteering is at the heart of high school education. In collaboration with the Centre de bénévolat de Saint-Laurent, students discover community service opportunities starting in Grade 7. Graduating from the school requires a minimum of 100 hours of volunteer work, completed throughout the 5 years of high school.

Launched during the school’s 50th anniversary year, the Anges Marcy group embodies the deepest Marcelline tradition: being present in the lives of others, simply and tangibly.

Open to Grade 10 and 11 students, this group invites students to live Marcelline values through an active presence with those experiencing fragility or poverty. In a true family spirit, the Anges Marcy work alongside Montréal’s homeless, Moisson Montréal and isolated seniors.

Their motto says it all: “To give is to receive.”

Marcellines sans frontières (MSF) is an extracurricular program for Grade 9 through Grade 11 students, which allows students to discover other cultures, while concretely contributing to a local humanitarian project. Learning, giving and growing — all three happen at the same time, boots on the ground.

Since 2007, the Marcelline Sisters have been working in Glo Yekon, in the Diocese of Cotonou, where the Sainte-Marcelline school welcomes more than 600 children aged 2 to 14. Founded as part of the Beninese government’s “Girls to School!” program. It promotes girls’ education and offers instruction in French, the key to accessing higher education.

Since 2021, a Marcelline Sister who is a family physician has established a mother-child program for healthy lifestyle education, contributing to reducing infant mortality in the region.

To support the educational work in Benin, a sponsorship program allows families and individuals to contribute directly to a child’s schooling. Every dollar goes directly to the child. There are no administrative fees. Sponsors receive a photo and a presentation of their godchild and can follow their progress, year after year.