Meals packaged by Saint Leo volunteers, University Ministry distributed in Guatemala
The efforts of University Ministry and the Saint Leo community are making an impact on the world. At the March 5 Spring Fling Morning of Service, more than 200 volunteers from the university community joined with University Ministry and Cross Catholic Outreach to package more than 40,000 meals.
Cross Catholic Outreach distributed those 40,000 meals recently in Guatemala. That country was hit hard by the pandemic and experienced the fourth-highest death rate in North America after the United States, Mexico and Canada.
“We are grateful for the generosity your university has shown in packing meals for hungry children in Guatemala,” Cross Catholic Outreach officials wrote.
Sandi Pino, a senior director for Cross Catholic Outreach, said, “COVID-19 has increased food insecurity and greatly impacted the vulnerable, especially the poorest of the poor in developing countries. Despite the logistical challenges posed by COVID-19, we must continue to provide the poor with food, medicine and other basic necessities.”
The meals packed by Saint Leo volunteers will benefit poor families in the Diocese of Suchitepequez-Retalhuleu, where the threat of hunger is severe. Many of the local families rely on subsistence farming as their primary source of nutrition—a risky venture in a region plagued by drought, Cross Catholic Outreach leaders said. “Fortunately, the Vitafood meals packed and funded by supporters like your university provide the nutritional lifeline these families desperately need.”
Our community may remember that Father Randall Meissen, university chaplain issued a special challenge to increase participation in March’s community service project. The Students Engaged in Rewarding Volunteer Experiences (SERVE) project also was an opportunity for friendly competition, as Meissen said that the club or organization that had the most participants register to volunteer would be honored with the Chaplain’s Challenge Award and would get to choose a color to dye Meissen’s beard for a day. 
The competition was close—the men’s soccer team emerged triumphant as the group with the most volunteer participants, and Meissen’s beard was dyed a bright green in the team’s honor.
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