Dozens of people with no one to claim their remains were laid to rest Wednesday afternoon in Mount Greenwood. No friends or family were there for the service, but they certainly were not alone.

Students from Brother Rice High School and St. Laurence High School stood in solemnity at Mount Olivet Catholic Cemetery as a service was held for the cremated remains of 79 indigent people whose surviving families could not afford to pay for a burial, and the burial of one person whose identity remains unknown.

Since 2012, Mount Olivet has served as the final resting place for people who died in Cook County and whose remains were not retrieved for burial by a family member. The Archdiocese of Chicago and Cook County government provide the burials as a public service.

Anthony Leodoro, a 14-year-old from Brother Rice High School, said it was his first time participating in the service.

"It's just a nice thing to do. These people died without having a family, so it's nice to come here and be there for them," he said.

Standing across from him at the service was his classmate, Brady Gomez.

"Honestly, it was emotional. None of these people had a family or anything. Seeing some of the people getting buried, like their ages, and just knowing that they didn't know anyone is pretty sad," Gomez said.

Friday's ceremony was the 38th time the Chicago Archdiocese and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle held services to bury people who weren't afforded a proper sendoff.

"Every person deserves a dignified and respectful burial," Preckwinkle said.

Brother Rice advocacy coordinator Mike Dolan said he brought some of his students to teach them this is the last human touch for those who are forgotten.

"This generation knows how important it is to for relationship, and how important it is to standup for those who are marginalized in our society," Dolan said.

Deacon Glenn Tylutki said, since 2012, they've buried more than 5,600 unborn, indigent, or unidentified people in such services.

"I have this feeling that when we die and we go up to heaven – we hope we all get to heaven – I can meet these people and say, 'Yeah, we gave you a grand sendoff,'" he said.

Over the years, Cook County and the Chicago Archdiocese have buried more than 1,600 hundred unborn children and more than 3,900 indigent or unidentified adults.

"We're all humans. We all should be there for each other, and all help each other through hard times or times of death," said St. Laurence High School sophomore Dylan Darling.