More than 40 students from Notre Dame's upper division are in Washington, D.C., again this year to participate in the 41st annual March for Life, which is held at the National Mall in the nation's capitol. They join hundreds of other young people in the "Champions for Life" from many of the Catholic high schools in the Detroit area as well as a number of public schools and homeschooling groups.
The NDP group, which currently numbers 44 students plus chaperones, left Monday evening and will return early Thursday.
The annual March for Life rally is from noon to 1 p.m. on January 22. A host of speakers are lined up for the rally and there will be a warm-up event and concert before its noon start. The actual march will begin immediately after the rally and follow a route up Constitution Avenue to the Supreme Court building on Capitol Hill.
The Michigan-based Champions for Life group was formed nearly 10 years ago when a Christian life group from Bloomfield Hills went to Washington for the March for Life and returned with a plan to create a pro-life conference that would attract hundreds of youth in the Detroit area. Through their work, the annual Building Bridges to a Culture of Life conference was born, gathering an average of 200 to 300 participants every year, with organizers from many of the Catholic high schools and organizations in the Detroit area. They dubbed the group of youngsters that head to the march every year "Champions for Life."
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About March for Life:
The March for Life in Washington, D.C., began as a small demonstration and rapidly grew to be the largest pro-life event in the world. This year will mark the 41st March for Life in Washington, D.C. Hundreds of thousands of people participated in the march in 2013, and crowds are expected to keep growing as young people from around the country participate.
About Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy
Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy is a private, Catholic, independent, coeducational day school located in Oakland County. The school's upper division enrolls students in grades nine through twelve and has been named one of the nation's best 50 Catholic high schools (Acton Institute) four times since 2005. Notre Dame's middle and lower divisions enroll students in jr. kindergarten through grade eight. All three divisions are International Baccalaureate "World Schools." NDPMA is conducted by the Marist Fathers and Brothers and is accredited by the Independent Schools Association of the Central States and the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement. For more on Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy, visit the school's home page at www.ndpma.org.