Lori Brown speaks with pride about her daughter's recent experience volunteering at Providence Holy Cross Hospital in Mission Hills, a brisk walk from the Bishop Alemany High School campus where Lori is parent volunteer coordinator and her daughter is a student.

It seems that hospital officials --- accustomed to student volunteers who "did their 40 hours" for their service requirement and then stopped --- asked, "When's your last day?" The response: "I'm doing this just because I want to help the patients and I want to be able to give a little something back." In other words, she had every intention of sticking around.

"I think it's a wonderful thing for kids to give," says Brown, whose daughter actually went to Holy Cross Hospital on her own and simply signed up to be an ongoing volunteer. Judith Hicks, a parent booster coordinator, believes the spirit at Alemany makes the difference.

"At Alemany, my two boys blossomed," says Hicks. "They were encouraged them to open themselves up to help other people, and the results have been very positive."

Catholic high schools are hardly strangers when it comes to volunteering in their local communities, and Alemany High School is no exception. This year's efforts include:

---An "Exceptional Halloween Dance" for the mentally challenged, at which Alemany provided the entertainment and favors and reached out to those less fortunate.

---Thanksgiving and Christmas collections of food, money and gifts which were taken to organizations that serve the needy. Forty families were fed this year and 126 turkeys were distributed.

---Stocking the food bank with canned goods at MEND (Meet Each Need with Dignity), the Pacoima outreach center.

One Saturday a month, the school holds a mentoring day for "Alemany Amigos," seven- to 11-year-old students who are bused from their elementary school to Alemany. The high school students are paired with children from disadvantaged backgrounds. A day of sports, arts and crafts, scavenger hunts, dancing and fun is enjoyed by both Alemany students and those mentored. Thirty senior students provide the leadership for the day.

"I've been volunteering since my sophomore year," says Rollie Carencia. "You give up your Saturdays or your weekend and, you know, I could be working and getting money. But when you see those kids' faces, the attention they give to you, it's so much more rewarding than anything else I could do with the time. It's really rewarding."

Every Tuesday and Thursday, Alemany students tutor at Guardian Angel School in Pacoima and at Haddon Elementary School across the street from Guardian Angel. For the holidays families are adopted from both schools and Alemany students provide meals and gifts as needed.

And when the tsunami struck in Southeast Asia, the school raised $3,000 for relief. Hurricane Katrina also brought many opportunities to help the less fortunate.

In 2005 students and faculty participated in the 30 Hour Famine sponsored by World Vision, held at high schools across the United States. Last year Alemany had the highest number of participants of any school in the U.S. with more than 1,000 students and faculty participating.

The program began with a simple $1 breakfast; 30 hours later, students took their next meal. Money was collected from family and friends to help fight global hunger. During the current school year Alemany students plan to conduct a similar program and this time contribute the money raised to Catholic Relief Services.

"Ten thousand children die each day from hunger," says Alemany student Molly Casanova, explaining students' involvement. "It only takes a dollar a day to feed a child, and $360 feeds a child for a year."

A current Alemany service project is particularly meaningful. Elizabeth Lopez, an Alemany alumna from the class of 1986 and parent of a current student, 11th grader Matthew, was severely burned last August when the family motor home caught on fire. In addition to her burns, it was necessary to amputate her toes. Hospitalized at the USC Burn Center since the time of the accident, she soon should be transferred to a rehabilitation facility.

Throughout Elizabeth's hospitalization, Matthew's classmates and fellow students have been supportive of the family in many ways. Most recently student and family friend Alexandra Acosta approached Bob Warren, director of Outreach Services, and asked if Alemany's Jan. 29 Family Communion Breakfast could be used as a fundraiser for Elizabeth and her family.

"She's such a genuinely wonderful person," says Acosta of Elizabeth Lopez. "She sets a wonderful example for others in her own giving. One year Mrs. Lopez invited a homeless woman to their family Thanksgiving dinner. She always helps others --- bringing carpools to school, going to games, being there for all the activities."

"When you find out about all these things that happen to people like Mrs. Lopez, you feel so privileged and you want to give back," says student Simone Salame. "She deserves a lot more than this. If we show her what she gave to the community, then she'll feel that people care. Because she does so much."

"Alemany stands out," says Rollie Casencia. "A lot of involvement in the student body is because they want to do it. They want to make a difference. Most of the time we have 90 percent participation of the entire school."

And it's not, says Cascenia, "just for the grade. We do it because there is a need."