Ricordia: Servant Leadership Training with Face to Face Germantown

by Colette Remy '26

On Wednesday, January 21, 2026, Merion Mercy students across all grades were invited to engage in Face to Face Germantown’s Servant Leadership training after school. The program was led and presented by Ally Monteiro, the organization’s  volunteer manager. 

Students attended the program with the goal of learning how to be with someone in community: not only by actions, but by language, intention, and thoughtful education to try to understand the living conditions of guests of Face to Face Germantown and all who suffer from the injustice of poverty. The session started with a quote from Coretta Scott King, in which she states, “I must remind you that starving a child is violence. Neglecting school children is violence. Punishing a mother and her family is violence. Discrimination against a working man is violence. Ghetto housing is violence. Ignoring medical need is violence. Contempt for poverty is violence.”

Students then took the time to reflect on the quote and discussed what it meant to them. Senior Addi Pollard commented, “Violence goes beyond physical things, and a lot more than what you first think when it comes to mind.” Junior Molly Dougherty added, “Choosing to not do anything about harm is violence.” Next, students learned the definitions of some most commonly used words when talking about injustice: poverty, trauma, food desert, food insecurity, housing instability, equity, and justice. What began as students listing what they previously knew about these words, transformed into a meaningful conversation about the true definition of these phrases. Monteiro stated that we need to consider what the words, “look like, sound like, [and] feel like.” For example, at first glance, a food desert might seem as though a place has no food at all; but Moneteiro added that it might also mean that it takes a person, “2 buses to get to a grocery store,” making buying something as simple as groceries an inconvenience. Further, words like justice are often thought of in the present sense but it also means breaking chains from the past, or ensuring that decisions made by people at a young age do not go on to affect the rest of their lives.

With these definitions in mind, MMA students then participated in a budget simulation in which they had to plan out a lifestyle conducive to healthy living and habits. Students were separated into groups and each was given a manila envelope that defined family situations, for example middle class, poverty, and deep poverty. In each envelope, varied amounts of coins (representing money) were provided with the middle class having the largest amount (20), poverty the second largest (13), and deep poverty the smallest (10). Then, students were presented with different familial environments: single dad with one child, a family of four, etc. With those coins, they had to allocate funds depending on their type of family and economic class. For some groups, they were met with choices such as deciding between paying for utilities or paying for insurance. This proved extremely difficult to many students, with most commenting on how they had to decide between multiple essentials.  

Finally, the event concluded with a discussion of current realities in Philadelphia. Students learned that the minimum wage in Pennsylvania is $7.25 an hour, whichhasn't increased in 20 years. More facts enriched discussions of structural racism and gentrification, such as the 23 percent of Philadelphians living in poverty and 12.4 percent in deep poverty (nearly twice the national average of 6.8 percent). 

At Merion Mercy Academy, this is why we are called to serve. The Mercy in our name constitutes the responsibility of service. As Martin Luther King once said, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” We have the power to make change, but it starts with helping our community one action at a time. “You can be a peacemaker, and change what’s not working, or a peacekeeper and not ripple the pool” as Monteiro would put it. Choice is a privilege that should be extended to all.

Below is Face to Face Germantown’s values statement. To volunteer or learn more about the organization, please click this link.

“Hospitality, Mutuality, and Transformation – speak to our belief that individuals experiencing poverty should be treated with respect. We are all equals here, with the same needs and desires – only our circumstances differ. We welcome everyone who enters our doors as our guests, helping them fight off the root causes of poverty. Face to Face began on May 13, 1984, after the members of St. Vincent de Paul Roman Catholic Church began cooking hot meals for their Germantown neighbors who were food insecure. Over the years, as the hardships became more apparent, we have responded to those needs organically, and today we offer a one stop shop of free services.”