November-Underwear Drive

Read the St. Louis Post-Dispatch article about the Underwear Drive!
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/education/
story/027DD7837BEE0FC2862572270017B395?OpenDocument

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Cardinal Ritter College Prep will hold “Annual Underwear Drive” to Benefit the MAT Social Ministry Center

ST. LOUIS, MO – Cardinal Ritter College Prep High School will host its “Annual Underwear Drive” benefiting the MAT Social Ministry Center located at St. Alphonsus Liguori "Rock" Parish in St. Louis. The underwear drive kicks off November 1st and continues through November 22nd.

Each year, students and faculty of Cardinal Ritter Prep gather and donate new packs of undergarments for disadvantaged men and women of St. Louis. According to teacher and coach Blasé Boettcher, “people might be willing to wear used shirts or pants, but nobody wants to wear used underwear.”

Since its start in 1993, the Cardinal Ritter Prep “Annual Underwear Drive” has collected more than 10,00 pair of new underwear for the St. Patrick Center, Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church, the Sunshine Mission, Missionaries of Charity, and Karen House. Last year, Cardinal Ritter Prep set a school record, collecting 1,800 pair of underwear in different sizes for both men and women.

“Over the years, all of the organizations we've donated to say they appreciate receiving the underwear,” Boettcher said. “We try and have fun with the collection, and provide a great service.”

Students have found creative ways to publicize the drive with music, poetry and raps in the Cardinal Ritter Prep morning announcements. Faculty does their share in the promotion, some even wearing boxer shorts over their regular attire during the charitable drive.

Cardinal Ritter Prep has earned nationwide attention and recognition, including being named an Exemplary School by the U.S. Department of Education in 1984. The school provides a college prep education centered on academics, spiritual values and leadership. Although they are a Catholic high school, nearly 70 percent of the students are not Catholic but instead represent a wide variety of faiths.

Cardinal Ritter College Prep High School has educated students from the entire St. Louis region for more than 25 years and opened a new, state-of-the-art school in Grand Center in 2003. This year, as in years past, all Cardinal Ritter Prep seniors graduated and moved on to college. Cardinal Ritter Prep is a coeducational high school accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. For more information or to donate new, packaged underwear, call (314) 446-5500 or visit www.cardinalritterprep.org.
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