In honor of the 300th anniversary of St. John Baptist De La Salle’s birth into eternal life, Mr. Matthew Butler, director of campus ministry, challenged CBA students to complete 300 hours of service between June 1, 2018 and June 1, 2019.

Last week at the Ascension Thursday mass, three CBA students were recognized for completing the “Challenge 300” service project: Alec Noe ’19, Connor Przelomski ’20, and Thomas Tsimbinos ’19.

“I could not be more proud of Alec, Connor, and Tommy,” Butler said. “The effort that these three guys have put into service is a personal inspiration to me. Completing 300 service hours in a year is a daunting task, so I wasn’t sure if anyone would complete Challenge 300. These three shining lights will do great things in the future.”

All three students completed over 300 hours of service in just under one year through a variety of different activities both in the local community and on service immersion trips.

Noe traveled on both the Florida and Montana trips twice, volunteered often at the Barn for the Poor in Middletown and was a staple on the weekly Asbury Park service trips, among other service activities around CBA.

“Participating in Challenge 300 was a huge opportunity to better myself and my community simultaneously in a rewarding fashion,” Noe said. “I have earned a great deal of experience and made many memories that will help me on the road ahead. Hopefully, I can continue to stay involved in service at CBA and in college in years to come.”

Przelomski also traveled to Florida on that service trip, worked at the Bon Jovi Soul Kitchen, and was a frequent volunteer at Lunch Break in Red Bank, the Calico Cat Thrift Shoppe in Middletown, and the Bayshore Senior Center.

“This challenge has been an incredible experience for me,” Przelomski said. “Completing 300 community service hours has made me realize the importance of community organizations and working together for the less fortunate.”

Tsimbinos spent much of last summer volunteering at Horizons, which is a summer enrichment program for unprivileged youth in Monmouth County. He also was active at Lunch Break in Red Bank and participated in just about every service opportunity around the CBA campus.

“It was an important challenge to me because God calls us to serve others,” Tsimbinos said. “It feels good knowing that I glorified Christ in my service and honored St. La Salle’s legacy at CBA.”

And while the summer time signals a break in school, Mr. Butler and campus ministry will be running service activities throughout the summer months, including a group traveling to Homestead, Florida on June 9th.