Alums Serve Our Troops

By Michael Murray '97
June 7, 2019

For fifteen years, volunteers from Serving Our Troops have traveled to military bases across the world to host a home cooked meal for National Guard service members. Generous donations have made it possible to grill and serve steaks to the soldiers while their families enjoy the same meal at RiverCentre in downtown Saint Paul. With the help of video conferencing and Skype we provide an opportunity for these families to share a home cooked meal.

This year we traveled to Camp Arifjan in Kuwait where 650 of the Minnesota National Guard 34th Red Bull Infantry Division are currently deployed. This year an incredible milestone was reached as we served our 100,000th steak to a deployed service member.

More than forty volunteers from the Saint Paul/Minneapolis area participated in this year’s trip. Most have connections to locally owned restaurants and businesses along with members from our biggest partners from the Saint Paul Saints, Minnesota Timberwolves, Minnesota Vikings, Thompson Rueters, Delta, and Xcel Energy.

Fourteen of us abroad were either Cretin/Cretin-Derham Hall graduates or parents of CDH grads. This included:

Matt Anfang (parent of Leah Anfang '19)
Teddy Casper (parent of Charles Casper '19)
Pat Flynn ‘84
Joe Gallagher ’81
John Haggenmiller '87
Joe Harris '84
Pat Harris ’84
John Mancini '83
Michael Murray ’97
Dan O’Gara '87
Jack O’Gara ’12
Mike Runyon ‘98
Peter Skinner ‘84
Jack Tinucci ’07

CDH has always created an environment where volunteering and philanthropy are both taught and practiced. During my own time at CDH, I was on the student council Service Committee which helped facilitate and host volunteer opportunities for students, faculty, and greater community members. From Dorothy Day to senior service projects CDH has intertwined giving of one’s self into the four-year journey of high school.

Serving our Troops is one example of Raiders continuing to give one’s time for the betterment of our community well beyond our time within the walls of Cretin-Derham Hall. The kind words and gratitude given to us by the soldiers in Kuwait who have spent the last nine months away from home has incredible value, and we hope to be serving our 200,000th steak in the next ten to fifteen years.