Bringing light into lives by giving back
Members of St. Mary’s team donate to people at Light House shelter
Weeks ago, St. Mary’s junior Hadley Chadwick wondered if therewas anyway she could find a way to inject a little light into a year marred by misery.
With her father Chris, they found it. Chadwick had helped the St. Mary’s’
Easter basket drive earlier in the year. She thought, why not do something similar for Christmas?
Aided by her girls lacrosse coach, Mindy Jones, Chadwick sent emails to her teammates with a simple mission: Donate what you can to help make the holiday season for underprivileged people at the Annapolis Light House shelter a bit brighter. The sign- up list filled quickly as more than 30 junior varsity and varsity teammates and their families volunteered to help and donate items to fill stockings for the shelter’s children.
Chadwick learned about the children at the Light House shelter: their names, ages and what was allowed to be dropped off. On Dec. 21, she and teammate Addie Levy collected the items and delivered candy, stuffed animals, baby blankets for the youngest and gift cards for the teenagers.
Giving back to other people in Annapolis strengthened Chadwick’s ties to her newest town. Though she’s attended St. Mary’s for three years, the junior has moved around because of her father’s job.
Chadwick gravitated toward helping others because of her father, a career United States Navy officer who set an example for her all childhood. She remembers her father setting up a toy drive for the children of one of her many temporary towns in Connecticut.
“Doing this for them made me really think of howmuch the people gave back there,” Chadwick said. “Iwanted to do it up again here.”
This last summer, Chadwickwatched her father donate his own kidney to a co- worker in need.
“He always raised us to do what we felt was right, no matter what, and to always reach out to people who needed help,” Chadwick said. “It was always a big part ofmy life to always do whatever I can to volunteermy time.”
As a coach who’s worked to give charity through her tenure at St. Mary’s, Jones fully supports her players looking forways to benefit their community too. Even so, the initiative her team showed in giving back during the holidays impressed her.
“I think it speaks volumes of St. Mary’s and the type of student- athletes that we have within our school,” Jones said. “Our kids are always looking to support one another and support those that are less fortunate.
“They recognize that they are privileged in the situation or they have many opportunities.”