A Day of Caring Reflection

by Dylan Jeanfreau ('25), Advancement Team Intern

This year St. Agnes Academy has orchestrated the Day of Caring for the second year since the pandemic. This event occurred on March 7^th and involved all of Saint Agnes Upper School. I discussed the Day of Caring, an over 25-year tradition, with our Director of Dominican Catholic Identity, Beth Odom, who described the day as “an opportunity for our girls at Saint Agnes to go out into the community and serve in all different aspects.” The goal of this day of service is to bring St. Agnes students closer to their classmates and their community and hopefully use “gifts and talents that they've received from God” to serve those in need. 

Each Upper School grade is assigned a certain service focus with about six locations for which they can sign up. This year, the freshmen were assigned to elderly care facilities, such as the Ave Maria nursing home. The sophomores worked with local Catholic Schools to assist with whatever they needed. The juniors volunteered with organizations focused on helping the marginalized, such as St. Vincent de Paul and Dorothy Day House. Finally, the seniors aided schools that work with kids with special needs. 

The Ministers of Service thoughtfully chose each place for their grade and worked with Mrs. Odom to create Day of Caring 2025. Mrs. Odom says “The Ministers of Service truly plan the day from beginning to end”. The ministers plan Day of Caring for months and correspond with each location independently. This year, there were 26 different locations across the city of Memphis that they worked with. The St. Agnes Upper School is very grateful for the effort and time the Ministers of Service put into Day of Caring!

As a senior, my class focused on schools that work with children who have developmental or intellectual disabilities. Among locations like Madonna Learning Center, Thrive, and The Oral School for the Deaf, I chose to work with the Harwood Center. The Harwood Center is a private nonprofit agency that provides education, therapy, and support for Mid-South families and children who have developmental disabilities. It gives children, ages two to kindergarten with diagnosed developmental disabilities or behavioral challenges, specialized care from highly qualified professionals. Before Day of Caring, I had never worked with the Harwood Center and was excited about this new opportunity.

My group started our day with a quick tour of the center. The Harwood Center, which is located on the University of Memphis campus, consists of classrooms, a small gym, and a meeting room. We learned enriching information on how the Harwood Center is run and its origin. We then assisted our supervisor in making new iPad cases for the children and organizing them. They might have been small tasks, but our group felt proud of the difference we were making for the center, and they were very appreciative of our help.

After our office tasks, we had the opportunity to meet some of the children in the center. We played games like hide and seek, basketball, and tag with the students. Everyone loved getting to experience time with the children at the Harwood Center, who were all cheerful and excited for new playmates. Our final task was going through each playroom and cleaning toys. It took us only fifteen minutes, but the supervisor was very grateful because cleaning each toy would have taken the teachers far longer. 

My time spent at the Harwood Center showed me the importance of working in the community and taking time out of my day for service. I felt more satisfied with my day because I used my time and energy to help others. The children at the Harwood Center were kind and friendly, and their disadvantages did not stop them from having a fun time with us. I highly recommend that people try volunteering at the Harwood Center. It gave me more insight into the lives of children born with disabilities and also allowed me to exercise my faith and beliefs within my neighborhood.