February 6, 2019
Dear Parents/Guardians,

This year your junior student will participate in Carondelet's Urban Plunge Immersion Program. As part of our ethics and Catholic social teaching curriculum, students learn about poverty and homelessness by getting to know and serve people in the Tenderloin Neighborhood in San Francisco. Students volunteer for the day at St. Anthony Foundation by preparing food, sorting donations, and visiting with the elderly. St. Anthony's hosts 16 Bay Area high schools each year for a day of volunteering. We are grateful to be part of their service program.  Through their interactions with those experiencing homelessness and economic poverty, we hope that students will more fully understand that every person has innate human dignity and is made in the image of God.

Who is Participating?
Your student will be participating in Urban Plunge with their Symbols and Ethics classmates and 4-5 Carondelet faculty/staff members. Click here to see when your student is participating.

How will Students Prepare for and travel to St. Anthony Foundation?
To prepare for Urban Plunge, students will have an information session in their class regarding logistics and safety info for the day.

Our students will be taking BART and we want to share our procedures with you.
  • Students will be with a Carondelet adult at all times
  • 4-5 Carondelet faculty/staff will chaperone each Urban Plunge trip of about 30 students.
  • Each class will ride BART and walk to and from St. Anthony's as a group.
  • All faculty/staff chaperones will participate in a pre-trip safety meeting
  • All students will have a class discussion about best safety practices

To help your student participate in Urban Plunge, please review the details below about the logistics of the trip:
  • Dress casually: jeans, t-shirts, tennis shoes. No leggings.
  • Bring only car keys & phone (inhaler, EpiPen, etc, if needed)
  • Meet at Pleasant Hill BART at 7:30 a.m. 
  • BART tickets will be provided by Carondelet.
  • Parking may be limited - be sure to allow enough time to get to BART and to find a legal parking place once you are there. Remember your parking stall number and bring $3 to pay for parking.
  • Meet on the Treat side of the station, between the ticket machines and the Newspaper seller, by the cement seats. Teachers will meet you there and take roll.
  • Lunch is provided. However, you will not have the opportunity to have a snack beforehand so be sure to have a hearty breakfast.
  • We will return to Pleasant Hill BART by 3:00 p.m.
We look forward to sharing this meaningful experience of service with your student. Thank you for partnering with us to make this immersion possible. If you have any questions about Urban Plunge, please contact Natalie Terry, Coordinator of Service & Social Advocacy, by email ( nterry@carondeleths.org ) or phone 925-686-5353 x141.

Sincerely,


Lacy Matthews
Director of Campus Ministry


Natalie Terry
Coordinator of Service & Social Advocacy