In the South, where I live, the beginning of May signals the beginning of the end of the school year for students. My granddaughter in South Carolina has already had her Prom (yes, she was beautiful) and her Graduation from high school is in a few weeks. For most students in the northern parts of the country, the school year will continue on until at least Memorial Day. But in either case, come early June, most students will be off for the summer and free of the classroom, homework, and getting up early for school.
Some of you may remember the song written in 1932 by George Gershwin for the opera Porgy and Bess, “Summertime.” Its most famous line, oft repeated, is “Summertime and the livin’ is easy.”
How often do we think about children and summertime — no school, just having fun, no cares in the world — and think they’re “livin’ easy”?
For many, that’s likely true. But for too many others, their summertime is anything but easy living — because for too many children in America today, no school means no breakfast, no lunch, maybe no meal at all for the day. And for too many families in America today, no school means no childcare, no one to watch the kids while a single Mom or Dad tries to work so they can pay the rent or put food on the table or clothes on their children’s backs.
No, the reality in America today is that when school ends many, many families don’t celebrate, take vacations to Disneyland, or cook out in the backyard. They despair, and suffer, and try to hold on.
And that’s why we, the SVdP Councils and Conferences, must exert special effort and energy in the summer to support families in need. And for us that can often be a very big challenge, because our children are out of school, we are traveling, our Church attendance and collection amounts are lower due to vacations. Our need is highest when our human and financial resources are lowest.
Think for a minute about the counterintuitive nature of our work and our effort. I would venture to guess that we devote the largest number of volunteer hours, food drives, and organized Conference activities to two times of the year — Thanksgiving and Christmas. But when you think about it, so is every other charity, church, civic organization, and just about any other organized group you can think of.
What if we tweaked the narrative a little? By devoting a larger effort in the summer, when need is huge, and people aren’t as focused on helping, we could really make an impact on helping people desperate for help.
Think about it. Talk about it. Make a difference.
Maybe you can help make someone’s “summertime livin’” a little easier.
Peace and God’s blessings,
John
John Berry
National President
As a retired superintendent of schools and 39+ year educator in the public schools in NJ, this message really resonated with me. During the school year, many children receive free breakfast and lunch (and dinner in some after school programs). When the summer comes, these meals disappear unless the district or community has a program to assist. In Atlantic County, NJ, where I spent most of my career, we were fortunate to have one of our local law firms partner with the SJ Food Bank to provide non-perishables and fresh produce every other week for much of the summer. The food was delivered to one of our schools and families could come and pick-it up. Members of our staff worked the food distribution and always tried to make families feel seen and welcomed (and not uncomfortable about their need). There were some instances when families didn’t have transportation, and we tried to help with that. Although this is not the work of the Catholic Church or the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, the service is in the spirit of helping our neighbors-in-need. For me, it was an example of living our faith and showing and seeing the face of Christ.
Thank you for this important and insightful message.