By Florida Catholic staff - Florida Catholic
MIAMI | Archbishop Coleman Carroll High won again, as did Epiphany elementary; but the biggest winners were the archdiocese’s Pregnancy Help Centers, and the women they serve.
The 55 Catholic schools in the archdiocese who participated in the second annual Schoolwide Educational and Baby Bottle Campaign raised over $255,000 for the office’s Pregnancy Help Centers – about $35,000 more than last year.
The campaign, organized by the Respect Life Office, ran from Oct. 17 to Nov. 18, 2022, coinciding with Respect Life Month. Similar baby bottle campaigns take place in archdiocesan churches at the same time, also to aid the nearest of the archdiocese’s three Pregnancy Help centers.
The month-long campaign calls for each school principal to appoint a faculty or staff member as the Respect Life representative for their school. During the month, teachers are encouraged to teach age-appropriate lessons to students in grades K-12 on the beauty and sanctity of human life in the womb.
In middle schools, the lessons cover pregnancy and abortion, as well as the community resources available, including the archdiocesan Pregnancy Help Centers.
Every student also received a prayer card with "A Prayer for Pregnant Mothers" to take home to share with their family, along with a parent letter explaining the campaign. Students were encouraged to say the prayer daily at school and with their families.
They also received a baby bottle where they could put in spare change (or cash or checks) to support the services and programs of the Respect Life ministry and its Pregnancy Help Centers.
Like last year, schools engaged in a friendly competition to see which one could raise the most per student.
The winners at the elementary level were:
- First place: Epiphany in South Miami, which raised over $26,000, or nearly $33 per student
- Second place: Mother of Christ in Miami, which placed third last year, and this year raised over $7,000 or nearly $28 per student
- Third place: St. Patrick in Miami Beach, which raised nearly $4,000 or around $16 per student.
The winners at the high school level were:
- First place: Archbishop Carroll in Miami, which raised around $8,600 or close to $20 per student
- Second place: St. Brendan in Miami, which raised $8,400 or a little over $6 per student.
“The winning schools will receive a cash prize to use toward technology or whatever their principal decides,” said Angela Curatalo, archdiocesan director of Respect Life.
The archdiocese’s three Pregnancy Help centers are located in central Broward, south Broward and south Miami-Dade counties. They provide services such as counseling, referrals, pregnancy testing and ultrasound exams, earn-while-you-learn classes for parents, and material assistance for mothers and babies.
For more information, go to respectlifemiami.org. Click on any of the images to download the complete list of participating schools and their totals.
