The Mother Teresa Project partners with the Friends of Immokalee Soccer School & Academy Club to provide consistent and positive mentorship for youth in Immokalee. Each week, students from Ave Maria travel to Mission Peniel where Ave students will sit with their assigned child and dedicate the time to tutoring, homework help, games, and other wholesome activities! Our goal is to support these youth with compassion, community, and opportunity.

The Immokalee Soccer School & Academy practice takes place on Saturday mornings at Eden Park Elementary school in Immokalee. Each week, we send volunteers to serve over 80 youth as they practice soccer, theater, dance, and have study time in between. Sessions begin with a group prayer and end with a community meal prepared by the parents of the players!

The Immokalee Child Care service opportunity is an incredible chance to impact the lives of the littlest members of the community. At ICC we serve, tutor, and love children between the ages of eight months and 5 years old. This year we are specifically working one-on-one with those kids that need a little additional help – whether that be in fine motor skills, ABC’s, counting, or a whole lot more! We make sure they get all the extra love and attention they need to succeed. Each week volunteers will be matched with either one or two students to tutor and get to know. Some weeks may involve group work or games as well.

Providence House is a transitional housing program for women and children that are homeless or at risk of being homeless in Naples. Volunteers serve on the second and fourth Tuesdays of the month to provide childcare during the mother’s formation meetings. Volunteers will supervise a multitude of children and engage them in games, crafts, and other fun activities!

At Aston Gardens students have the opportunity to form friendships with the residents there who suffer from Alzheimer’s and Dementia.  Students can play music, sing, do arts and crafts, and most importantly, have conversations with the individuals they go to visit. Ave student give of their time to help alleviate what Mother Teresa called “the greatest disease in the West…being unwanted, unloved, and uncared for.”

The Mother Teresa Project serves at Casa Maria Soup Kitchen the first Friday of each month. The soup kitchen is run by Catholic Charities and is located in Immokalee next to Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish. Volunteers will help to prepare and serve meals to local residents in the soup kitchen.

Naples Green Village and Moorings Park are an incredible opportunity for Ave Students to affirm the dignity of all human life, from conception to natural death. Volunteers will spend time in conversation with the residents and participating in basic crafts and other activities.

The Miami Soup Kitchen is Ave Maria’s chance to serve with the Missionaries of Charity on a weekly basis! Each Sunday, the Mother Teresa Project takes a group of students to serve at the M.C. house in Miami, in which the sisters operate a soup kitchen and homeless shelter. Volunteers will perform a variety of tasks to assist the sisters in feeding over 200 men and women in the soup kitchen.

The Mother Teresa Project is so blessed to have a Habitat for Humanity jobsite less than twenty minutes away. The Collier County Habitat Branch is one of the most active Habitat Branches in the entire country! Ave Maria sports teams, clubs, and households have assited in the framing, siding, and painting of homes since 2014. The MTP is blessed to assist in providing affordable housing for families in need.