On any given school day, you may see Saint Ignatius High School students in collared shirts and ties walking to the West Side Catholic Center to sort donations, heading into Urban Community School to tutor children, or investing in the literacy skills of students at The Bridge Avenue School. You may also see young men from Ignatius serving as voluntary pallbearers for a deceased member of the community who may not otherwise have them.

Outside of school time, you can also find Ignatius students mentoring youth at ten after-school programs supported by Ignatius. On Sunday nights, as they have without fail for the past 10 years, three Ignatius vans leave the campus stocked with food for and anticipated conversations with the homeless of Cleveland. Students can be found shoveling walks in the winter, and helping neighbors move donated furniture – sometimes into a new home for someone previously homeless.

“People know about Saint Ignatius High School in many ways from our success in the classroom and on the athletic fields.  However, the way people really get to know the heart and soul of our students is through the many ways in which they serve the needs of and interact with the surrounding neighborhood,” said Mike McLaughlin, Theology Department Chairman and Sophomore Service Director.

The school supports more than 20 Christian Service Initiatives – programs that give students the opportunity to build relationships and offer a helping hand- often to the Ohio City neighborhood and Near West side of Cleveland. In return, students broaden their worldview while living out the Christian values of promoting faith in the service of justice.

One of these initiatives is Sophomore Service, a required 45-hour time commitment of community service inserted into the Theology curriculum of every student. This year, Sophomore Service celebrates its 40th year.

“These are truly ‘Men for Others’,” Terrie Garr, Director of Volunteer & Donor Services at the West Side Catholic Center (WSCC) said, using a Jesuit phrase that encourages the institution’s Catholic identity and mission.

Garr said the students who spend their semester at the center begin to witness firsthand the needs of homeless men and women. “The Ignatius men are an influential part of the WSCC. The Sophomore Service program is unique because their direct service to the folks is integrated into their Theology. This truly makes a difference compared to volunteering one day of the school year. After their semester, they really understand the lives of those living without food, clothing and shelter. They continuously show care to the folks at WSCC as well as demonstrate an awareness of the necessity of the services of social agencies.”

Saint Ignatius has been listening to the needs of the neighborhood and responding to those needs for many years.

 “We do what’s best for the student experience in the context of being a good neighbor,” said John Gill, director of the Arrupe Neighborhood Partnership – an Ignatius program begun in 1991 as a response to community needs brought to the attention of the school. “Our programs focus on mutual relationships between students and neighbors. We connect neighbors to resources, while getting to know people on a personal level.”

It is clear that the school makes it a priority to be a good neighbor while encouraging students to make it personal to do, give, and live for others.

 “Service is the most important thing that a student does during their 4 years here,” said Mclaughlin, who has led the program for 9 years. “Everything we do at Ignatius is geared towards teaching our students to use their gifts to change the world.”