Project Respect, Inc.

The REGIS School of the Sacred Heart students came to the Harrisburg Jackson Cemetery for a day of Service Learning, Preservation and sharing of our cultural programs and awareness, November 23, 2009. Their statements at the end of the day expresses their views and what we shared today! The boys participating were:
8th grade

Miguel Amaya
Nicholas Espanan
Saito Gutierrez
William Kudela
Sterling Paulsen
Daniel Platt
Sean Rosettie
Conor Tondre

7th grade:
Monsour Bissat
Roberto Brunel
John Burke
Jonothon Durodola
Carlos Elizondo
Case Garrison
Jake Garrison
Michael McDonald
Evan Morales
Brandon Saunders
Justin Saunders
Anthony Schneider
Matthew Skolaut
Kyle Stulen
Batista Sumbe
Samuel Townend
Jack Weathington
Parker Williams
Jack Woodward

Several media representatives were on hand for this event. Channel 26 provided coverage of the event and ran it on the 10:00PM news.

After the event, Sharon Lundgren, parent of a Sacred Heart Student, and the lead person in planning the Preservation Day event wrote:

"Thank you so much, Project RESPECT team members all, for a wonderful day of service and learning at the Harrisburg Jackson cemetery.

"Thank you for all you organized, the service opportunity, the education, the training sessions, all of the technology and the landscaping tools, the wonderful barbeque and goodies, the necessities like the tent and the port-a-potties, the set up, the clean up, etc., etc.

"Many of the boys did not want to stop working, serving, learning and discovering today. I will provide their written reflections to Woody, but I wanted to quote a few here:"

"I would like to come back year after year and take care of it."
"Go and see if there are any cemeteries in my neighborhood that need cleaning up."
"I would like to do this again because it was fun and we helped a community and people who have loved ones in the cemetery.V
"I learned that a lawn mower is not as easy as it looks."
"I learned that the dead should be respected by everyone.
"The gravestones we found helped remind me and helped teach me about the lives of other people."
"I'd like to go visit my ancestors graves and make sure that this hasn't happened to them."
"It helped the community and we had a lady ask us to find her grandmother's grave. I learned that many people have loved ones in this cemetery."
"I learned that although you are a different race you should not be buried differently."
"I would like to come back again and help with the GPS systems."
"We could come back and continue what we left off. Also we could help clean up other cemeteries."
"I would love to do something like this again because it was very fun."
"I would like to help Project RESPECT again."

A complete file of the boys' written reflections can be read in this 5 MB PDF

Click here to access addition pictures from 23 November.