Students from Christian Brothers Academy (Lincroft) and Trinity Hall (Tinton Falls) teamed up to prepare and serve dinner to more than 240 attendees last Tuesday, raising over $7,500 in the process. 

Press release from Christian Brothers Academy

On December 6, the Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) chapters of Christian Brothers Academy and Tinton Falls-based Trinity Hall teamed up once again for their 10th annual “Dinner for the Troops.”

Convening in the CBA cafeteria, students handled all the preparations and cooking for 240 guests, while raising over $7,500 in the process. All funds raised will go towards supporting servicemen and servicewomen stationed overseas. The evening also featured guest speaker Sgt. Melissa Leist, a veteran of Operation Enduring Freedom, who shared her thoughts on military service.

Each year, the event epitomizes what the holidays are all about: gratitude and goodwill towards others — and under the supervision of SADD moderator Mr. Frake, the event was almost exclusively run by student volunteers. Each year, the event is held in honor of Lieutenant Dennis W. Zilinski II, a CBA Class of 2000 and West Point alumnus, who was killed in action while serving in Iraq in 2005.

“We often see war reported on TV as some distant event in some distant place,” said Dominic Sepko, a CBA senior and president of CBA SADD. “Dennis [Zilinski] and his impact on the lives of the people around him showed that the troops overseas are often closer to home than we might think.

“We owe it to those defending our freedoms to make every effort possible to try to help them as best we can.”

The annual Dinner for the Troops event continues the CBA community’s commitment to service during the holiday season. Other major endeavors include the Thanksgiving Food Drive (which collected over 22,000 non-perishable food items for local food banks this year), and the Winter Coat drive. In addition, the school’s continued collaboration with Holiday Express continues this Thursday, December 15, during their annual Christmas Party for students with special needs.