Fathers and daughters who participated in the Ursuline Academy Dads Club service project at St. Joseph Catholic Church and School. (Courtesy photo)
By Michael Gresham
The Texas Catholic
On an unseasonably warm February morning, a small army of volunteers from Ursuline Academy of Dallas descended upon St. Joseph Catholic Church and School in Richardson. A mix of fathers and daughters, the group represented Ursuline Academy’s Dads Club.
“It was a great day,” said Joe Roppolo, a member of one of 35 dad-daughter duos comprising a group of 70 volunteers on hand at the Richardson parish on Feb. 24 for a day of service. “There was a lot of work to do but, at the end of the day, it was all worth it. It was very rewarding.”
At St. Joseph, the volunteers painted a dining hall shared by the parish and school as well as several other rooms, including a youth activities room and a large meeting room, as part of the club’s annual spring service project.
“Even with that many volunteers, it took us up to about four hours to get all the painting done,” said Greg Land, who serves as the Dads Club service coordinator and who has two daughters at Ursuline, Megan, a senior, and Vivienne, a freshman. “The parish only has two people in its facilities group, so they were truly appreciative of our help. They said it would have taken them weeks to have done it by themselves.”
The Dads Club worked with Cecilia Colbert, who serves as the chief financial officer for the Diocese of Dallas, to coordinate the project.
“Through her role with the diocese, she was able to connect us with parishes and individuals within the diocese that needed help,” Land said. “There are a lot of needs out there, and this really helped us connect with a parish we could help.”
According to Rob DeVita, president of the Ursuline Academy Dads Club, building relationships is at the core of everything the club does.
“Our main mission is three-fold,” DeVita said. “It’s to support and promote relationships between dads and their daughters, to help and support the relationship between dads and Ursuline Academy in general, and to support and promote relationships among the dads of Ursuline students.”
Club members serve the school in various ways, including running concession stands for athletic events and decorating the sprawling Ursuline Academy campus for the holidays.
“We also have meetings where we look to foster relationships between the dads, building camaraderie,” DeVita said. “We also work in conjunction with some of the classes to help develop different skills for the girls. For instance, we have one coming up next month where we’re doing an automotive care session with the girls on changing tires, changing oil, and developing those life skills that they’re going to need.”
In addition, the club coordinates two major service projects for fathers and daughters each year, with one in the fall and one in the spring. While the club’s spring project focused on St. Joseph in Richardson, its fall service project benefitted Community Partners of Dallas, which supports children in care of the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services.
“We had about 100 volunteers come together in the Ursuline Academy dining hall, where we made 1,000 snack bags, which included putting two or three snacks in these paper sacks. We also drew and wrote notes of support to be placed in the paper sacks, which we also decorated,” Land said. “We also did 100 birthday boxes, which were 9×11 boxes that contained notes, party favors, and brownie mix. The CPS care representatives can provide these boxes to the children and their parents or foster parents so they can have a birthday party for themselves.”
Dads Club president Rob Devita and his daughter Angelina paint the dining hall at St. Joseph Catholic School in Richardson on Saturday, February 24, 2024. Ursuline Academy students and their fathers gathered at the school to paint as a service project. (Photo by Kevin Bartram)
Legacy of service
Ursuline’s school motto, Serviam, translates as “I will serve.” The spirit of that word embodies the work that the Dads Club does.
“It’s a part of Ursuline’s mission and core values, but it goes beyond just that,” Land said. “It’s important for us as fathers to model what we need to be doing in our lives.”
Roppolo, who worked alongside his sophomore daughter Keira at St. Joseph, agreed.
“I think for those who are parents who are called to serve, it is important that our children develop that heart to serve as well,” said Roppolo, who is the Dads Club president-elect. “We want our daughters to understand the importance of giving up your time, your efforts, and your treasure to help others in need.”
Roppolo recalled watching his parents work to help others through service, adding that he believes that it is vital parents model a servant’s heart to their children.
“It’s vitally important to set that example of service,” he said. “I learned from watching my parents, and I hope that carries forth to my daughter.”
Likewise, DeVita added that he felt it was also important to get both fathers and daughters out of their comfort zones and build their own camaraderie.
“The interactions between a father and daughter during a service project is sort of teaching them by example that they need to get out in the community and do good for others,” he explained. “As tough as it may have been to get them up early on a Saturday morning, the sense of fulfillment they felt afterwards was truly worth it.”
Ignacio Barbero, who has been a member of the UA Dads Club for eight years, first with his older daughter Victoria, who graduated in 2020, and now with daughter Elizabeth, an Ursuline senior, called the service opportunities “rewarding on many different levels.”
“It is very rewarding to help better our community and serve others in any small way that we can,” said Barbero, adding that in addition to the fellowship with other fathers, he appreciated the opportunities to serve alongside his daughters. “We have thoroughly enjoyed the father-daughter bonding and memory makers all these years.”
For Barbero, whose daughter is now a senior, the Feb. 24 event was bittersweet.
“This is the last project I will get to do with Elizabeth at Ursuline and the Dads Club,” he said. “There are a lot of ‘last events’ this semester. I can rest assured, however, that we took full advantage of our time together and had fun along the way.”
“Most of the families here at Ursuline have been blessed, and everyone can give back to the community,” Land added. “Our daughters need to learn that lesson, because it truly helps connect us to others.”
It is a lesson not lost on the Ursuline students.
“I think that it is very important to do service for others, because it helps shape who you are as a person,” said senior Angelina DeVita, daughter of the Dads Club president. “I love doing service with my dad, because it not only is a way for us to spend time together, but we are also helping others in our community.”
Her classmate, Elizabeth Barbero, agreed.
“It is always important to give back to your community, especially when they are in times of need,” Barbero said. “Doing service can also be enjoyable when you are with the right people and doing it for the right reasons.”
