OliviaSullivan

Operation Others’ annual project is underway. “The goal of Operation Others is to distribute bags of food to around 2,000 people in the Omaha area,” junior Kate McGill, Operation Others core team member, said.

Operation Others consists of students from all eight Catholic high schools in the Omaha area: Marian, Duchesne, Mercy, Mount Michael, Prep, Roncalli, Skutt and Gross. Operation Others core team of 33 from these schools meets every other week to plan.

Marian’s peanut butter and jelly drive, which took place Nov. 13 – 23, collected 2,452 jars for distribution. The other Catholic schools collect canned vegetables, meat and fruit.

Operation Others also receive shipments of apples, oranges, pasta, potatoes and other food items, most of them donated from local grocery stores. All of the food is packed into bags and delivered to families across the Omaha metro area. This year’s delivery day is Dec. 21 and volunteers, including nonmembers of Operation Others or even families from local parishes, are welcome to help out. Other dates for volunteering include set-up day, Dec. 19, when all the food comes together in one place, and packing day, Dec. 20, when the bags are assembled.

“I think it’s important, especially for Catholic school kids, to see that there is poverty in Omaha, and that there are people in need in Omaha. Because you don’t normally see that. People should just do service. They should give back to the community and put kindness out there,” senior Clara Neary, Operation Others core team member, said.

The act of service aligns with Catholic schools’ faith and values. “It’s feeding the hungry, a corporal work of Mercy,” Mr. Mark Koesters, theology teacher and Operation Others Marian moderator, said.

“It’s also valuable in that it teaches students how to organize, how to carry out a huge project, and how to get the whole community of Omaha involved. “Everybody knows about Operation Others, in the Catholic community, it seems,” Koesters said.