About Project Starfish 
St. Paul Parish School Annual Lenten Service Project

Our annual Lenten service project will once again assist St. Vincent de Paul and Catholic Community Services to help the homeless of our area.  Our school community will join together to raise money to facilitate getting families into housing, paying a month or two for rent, and helping to stock their new homes with basic necessities.

Project Starfish is a plan to provide something beyond shelter as a way to help families break out of the cycle of homelessness by working through problems that contribute to homelessness with the support of our local social service agencies.  The families are also being asked to contribute something in return by doing volunteer work.
    
     "Once upon a time, there was a wise man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work.
     One day, as he was walking along the shore, he looked down the beach and saw a human figure moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself at the thought of someone who would dance to the day, and so, he walked faster to catch up.
     As he got closer, he noticed that the figure was that of a young man, and that what he was doing was not dancing at all. The young man was reaching down to the shore, picking up small objects, and throwing them into the ocean.
     He came closer still and called out "Good morning! May I ask what it is that you are doing?"
     The young man paused, looked up, and replied "Throwing starfish into the ocean."
     "I must ask, then, why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?" asked the somewhat startled wise man.
      To this, the young man replied, "The sun is up and the tide is going out. If I don't throw them in, they'll die."
     Upon hearing this, the wise man commented, "But, young man, do you not realize that there are miles and miles of beach and there are starfish all along every mile? You can't possibly make a difference!"
     At this, the young man bent down, picked up yet another starfish, and threw it into the ocean. As it met the water, he said, "It made a difference for that one."

One Home, One Family at a Time. . .