Student Activities
Esperanza
Eligible Students: Any Seniors in good standing (academically GPA of 2.5, O'Dea gentlemen). 2 Juniors in Spanish III - School Leaders (20-22 students total).
Moderators: Ms. Gabriela Botello and Mr. Aires Patulot
Meetings: Applications are distributed in October and meetings begin periodically thereafter, leading up to the week long trip during Holy Week.
In the spirit of Blessed Brother Edmund Rice a group consisting of seniors, juniors and faculty from O’Dea High School will go to New Orleans, Louisiana, to work with a less fortunate family that was affected by Hurricane Katrina to help them build a home.
The mission trip is called Esperanza, which in Spanish means "hope." Esperanza International was founded in 1984 in an attempt to empower the poor in third world countries by bridging their needs with available resources. Under the leadership of Denny David, President of the National Honors Society, Esperanza was adopted by O’Dea in 1999. Denny David experienced Esperanza through his youth group at Our Lady of Fatima parish and believed it would be a positive experience for the O'Dea community.
The Esperanza mission trip takes place during Holy Week, and the spring of 2011 will mark O’Dea’s 13th Esperanza mission trip. This year we will be working with Operation Helping Hands, a program under Catholic Charities, Archdiocese of New Orleans. The mission trip is made possible by contributions from the O’Dea community. In their homeroom classes, the students raise the funds to help pay for the basic construction costs of the house. Other expenses are covered by donations from the community at large, a car wash, a talent show, and from family resources in which all Esperanza members participate.
Although we are working hard to raise the money for our food, lodging and transportation, we still need your help if we are going to meet our goal. For this reason, we are writing this letter to ask for your help. If you wish to contribute, please make your check payable to O’Dea High School -Esperanza and mail it to the student you are sponsoring before April 8th. If you have any questions regarding our program please contact Ms. Gabriela Botello at (206)-622-6596 or gbotello@odea.org. For more information about Esperanza we encourage you to visit the Operation Helping Hands website. WE THANK YOU very much for your donations because without them this mission would not be possible. God bless you.
This project is supported by the National Honors Society and includes the Religion Department, the International Language Department, the History Department, and the Social Justice Team. It is also strongly supported by the Administration.