CMCP Service Week: Living the Marianist Family Encounters Project

Chaminade-Madonna College Preparatory’s annual Service Week, this year, united students, faculty, and the Board of Trustees in a transformative experience of reflection and hands-on volunteering across the local Broward County to actively embody their Catholic-Marianist mission of compassion, justice, and environmental stewardship.

CMCP Service Week

February 17-21, 2026,

Each year, Service Week invites the Chaminade-Madonna College Preparatory community to step beyond the classroom and into the heart of our Catholic-Marianist identity. This annual event also brings to life the goals of the Marianist Family Encounters Project. During this week, students and faculty come together to serve their local communities in ways that reflect the Marianist values of standing with those in need, building community through meaningful encounters, inclusivity, compassion, and caring for creation. Through these acts of service, reflection, and collaboration, participants strengthen the bonds of their Marianist Identity and renew their shared mission to build a more compassionate and hopeful world through justice, peace, and the integrity of creation.

Over four days, students from every grade attend a day of reflection to examine the importance of service, considering the Gospel and our Catholic & Marianist tradition. The remaining three days, students with their teachers, partnered with over 25 agencies throughout Broward County—environmental organizations, social‑service centers, nursing homes, animal‑care facilities, and schools—each encounter becomes a living classroom of compassion, justice, and shared humanity. To name a few, students served at Feeding South Florida, The Salvation Army, the Community Enhancement Center, Nativity School, and In Jacob Shoes. where they sorted donations, prepared resources for families facing hardship, and supported programs that meet immediate needs with dignity and compassion.

Students also spent time restoring and protecting South Florida’s natural ecosystems Mizell‑Johnson State Park, Oleta River State Park, Anne Kolb Nature Center, Hugh Taylor Birch Park, Central Broward Park, Tradewinds Park, Snyder Heal the Planet, & Dania Beach Gardens, and the MEEC Carpenter House, tending gardens, removing invasive species, supporting animal habitats, and caring for fragile coastal environments. As one student reflected while clearing trails at Oleta River State Park, “You realize the environment isn’t something ‘out there.’ It’s part of us, and we’re responsible for it.”

Freshmen and seniors alike spent time with residents at Northwest Focal Nursing Home and The Pointe of Plantation, offering companionship, conversation, and joyful presence. The Best Buddies group served all week at the Quest Center, building friendships rooted in mutual respect and belonging, standing with those on the margins, honoring the dignity of every person, and creating relationships through their presence and message of hope.

And to end the week, on Saturday, February 21, 2026, the Board of Trustees also participated in a service project. This year, seven Board members volunteered to sort and pack clothing for Hope Outreach Center, which serves low-income families, seniors living alone, and individuals facing homelessness in Broward County. 

Service Week is more than a tradition—it is formation. It shapes students who understand that faith is lived, not only professed; that justice is practiced, not only discussed; and that community is strengthened through encounter, not isolation. As the Marianist Family Encounters Project reminds us, we are all called to be agents of reconciliation, protectors of creation, and companions to those in need.

View some photos of CMCP’s Service Week:

CMCP Service Week Slideshow

Update sent by Bro. Jack Ventura, SM,

Ministry Lead, Marianist Encounters,

Director, Mission Integration Team,

Chaminade-Madonna College Preparatory,

Hollywood, FL