The holiday season came with a powerful lesson in leadership, compassion and Catholic identity for the third grade class at Notre Dame Catholic Parish and School in Denver. Under the guidance of their teacher, Mrs. Alaina Gonzales, 23 students sponsored and coordinated a school-wide food drive to support Catholic Charities Little Flower Assistance Center—collecting nearly 925 donated food items and more than $800 in financial gifts, all designated to feed local families in Aurora, Co.
Notre Dame’s 3rd graders took full ownership of the effort from start to finish. As Mrs. Gonzales explained, “The third grade class held a food drive this month for Catholic Charities Little Flowers Assistance Center. Together our students worked on public speaking by making announcements to the whole school. They created flyers to put up around the building, counted cans and money every day, and tracked our winners. When the food had been collected, they sorted the cans and they did great job loading the truck.”
Their leadership paid off—two pallets were filled to the brim, a visible reminder that small hands can make a big impact. The canned goods, pasta and pantry items will go directly to neighbors served by Little Flower Assistance Center in Aurora, where food insecurity has increased sharply in recent months.
For Mrs. Gonzales, the drive was intentionally tied to her students’ spiritual formation. Third grade is when many receive their sacraments. “I really think one of the most important parts of the sacraments is service, so I wanted to instill that love and excitement of serving others for them.” Taking that excitement forward, her class reached out to Catholic Charities, launched the drive school-wide. “We just were really excited and inspired and loved seeing those numbers grow every day.”
A friendly competition helped keep momentum strong. “We were tracking our winners of first, second and third places just to keep a competition going.”
The money portion of the donation came primarily from “casual dress days,” a beloved school tradition where children contribute a small gift in exchange for dressing out of uniform. That simple joy became a means to support Catholic Charities hunger-relief work—an experience that linked academics, faith and real-world impact. “I just think that it’s an important part of their Catholic education to do acts of service.”
At Little Flower, that generosity translates directly into groceries for families who otherwise would struggle to keep their cupboards full. Each can, each dollar and each moment of student leadership represents real relief for a community that relies on Catholic Charities during the holidays and throughout the year.
What began as a class project became a lesson in discipleship—proving that when children are trusted to lead, they rise to the moment with joy, creativity and conviction.
A big thank you to Notre Dame Catholic Parish and School and Mrs. Gonzales’ remarkable 3rd graders for helping Colorado families share in the blessing of a full table this holiday season.
*Catholic Charities Little Flower Assistance Center distributed $1.3 million worth of food in 2025. To Learn more about Little Flower click here.