Last Thursday during the October all-school Mass Aidan’s torch was lit by a member of the Boys Basketball team and passed to representatives from the Social Ecological Concerns Organization (SECO). The passing of Aidan’s torch happens at every monthly all-school mass as the Saint Joe Community strives to live out the legacy of a classmate who is no longer with us.

This month SECO will be hosting a school-wide plastic grocery bag collection. Students will team up to cut the bags into strips and weave them into large sleeping mats that will be distributed to the homeless population of South Bend.

This project was chosen because it embodies SECO’s two main principles. It is raising awareness for the social justice issue of homelessness not only in South Bend but all over and is helping conserve the environment by repurposing plastic bags that would otherwise have ended up in a landfill.

“The process to make the mats is really quite easy,” said SECO leader Elle Dickson. Dickson encourages all students to participate in this event by donating plastic bags and making the mats. “There will be lots of students and adults around to help facilitate the making of the mats so don’t be worried if you do know how to do it. There will be plenty of people around to help you out” Dickson promises.

So in the coming weeks make sure to save your grocery bags and drop them in the bins found near both main entrance doors so we as a school can continue to honor Aidan’s memory and serve in his name.