At Bellarmine there are many great opportunities to make an impact on the greater community. Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, students have the opportunity to go help the homeless in downtown Tacoma, through Shirts Across America students can help rebuild homes to New Orleans, and there are many other service oriented opportunities throughout the school.

This year, through Bellarmine, students can travel to Costa Rica to help build a basketball court for a community through Courts for Kids. The organization has built courts all around the world. Some countries include: Belize, Cambodia, InGuatemala, Hatit, India, Indonesia, Jamaica, Peru and Uganda. The trips are a fun and safe immersion trip that allows people to practice their language skills and make a lasting impact on their community while staying with host families.

Madeline Garcia, junior, is looking forward to “working together with other Bellarmine students to help build a basketball court [sports court] in a village in Costa Rica.”

The program gives students and adults an opportunity to expand their perspectives, to obtain a larger understanding of the world around them. It allows them to connect with people around them. Sometimes it is hard for us to understand the plights of those from a different situation and culture.

Varsity basketball players Jenny Hagle, Maggie Smith and Garcia are helping to lead the service effort this year. One may say that they know a thing or two about courts. An excited Hagle, junior, encourages others to join them in Costa Rica this Spring Break by saying, “It is a great opportunity to see yourself make a tangible difference. The court will not only be a place for exercise, but also a community center.”