Every year Judge participates in a service project called Gift of the Drummer which is sponsored during the month of December by Catholic Community Services. This year CCS is serving an especially vulnerable population. A large number of families from Afghanistan need any help they can get. Less than a year ago the United States Armed Forces completed their withdrawl from Afghanistan, and a lot of families have sought refuge in Utah.

Each advisory at Judge is responsible for helping to provide Christmas gifts for refugees and families in need in our community. Ms. Celina Poppe, director of campus ministry and coordinator of the Gift of the Drummer program for Judge, said that the goal of this year’s program is to provide kits to be given to Afghan refugee families to help them get the essentials they will need.

At Judge the Gift of the Drummer was kicked off at the Christ the King liturgy on Nov. 18.

“The reading from the Feast of Christ the King talks about looking for Jesus in the least of our brothers and helping those least loved and most in need,” Poppe said. “You are living out the message of our patron by giving in this way with the Gift of the Drummer Service Project.”

The final collection day was on Dec. 9 when Judge students delivered all the kits to CCS.

“We made kits for 33 different refugee families,” Poppe said. “Some of them are babies all the way up to 20-year-olds. The clothing company, Cool, donated about $7,000 worth of clothes for us to give to the older people.”

“Judge just came through. We’re delivering everything today, and I can’t wait,” Poppe said. ”