St. Joseph Grade School does donation walk in honor of a promise

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- St. Joseph Grade School and St. Vincent de Paul Society of St. Joseph County hosted their annual ‘Promise Walk’ Thurs. afternoon.

The ‘Promise Walk’ is in honor of a Marian High School student who passed away after a car accident more than two decades ago.

“It started in 2002 when a young man named Eric Henry made a promise on Ash Wednesday to do more and to help more. Unfortunately, he passed away the following day in a car accident and so some of his friends at Marian High School decided to fulfill his promise… so they collected cans and clothes for the St. Vincent de Paul Society and we’ve been doing it ever since, for 23 years,” said the Executive Director of St. Vincent de Paul Society of Saint Joseph County, Kristine Hilger.

Eric’s promise sparked a tradition born from tragedy, and each year the school partakes.

This year, St. Joseph Grade School spent the past few weeks collecting donation like food and money before making the 10-minute walk on Thurs. from the school to the society.

Not only is the walk buzzing with excitement as the students get a break from the books, but it also shows how Eric’s desire to ‘be more giving’ is still a lesson decades after his death.

“Even though he’s not here today, we still keep doing this to pay respect to him… and I’m kind of tearing up a little… things like this don’t happen every day so that’s what makes me like tear up a little… like the emotion and… the passion put into something like this, that doesn’t happen every day,” said 6th grader Isac Machowiak during the walk.

A demonstration in giving. That’s what Eric’s promise and story has turned into and what the Pastor of St. Joseph Grade School, Father Matt Fase, hopes the school can continue teaching each year as they do the ‘Promise Walk’.

“We need to form them to… do the good and right and beautiful things. We form them not just by telling them, but by doing it. Educating the heart, educating the mind…That’s a beautiful way that, I mean, so much of our life gets passed on and especially the way our faith gets passed on… the stories that we hear from before us continue to inspire us and we can see that happening in real time with the kiddos,” said Father Matt Fase, C.S.C.