And the Wise Came Bearing Gifts….

Here are reports of just two of the many Christmas giving projects of Divine Compassion ministries:

Mustard Seed Migrant Ministry:

On the weekend before Christmas, La Tienda at Mustard Seed offered a place for migrant workers to purchase as gifts  for their families at reasonable prices.  All the gifts are donated by a variety of friends of and volunteers at the ministry, Sisters, Associates, and Companions of the Divine Compassion, and parishioners of Holy Name Church in Valhalla.

 Mustard Seed families and volunteers gathered to conduct the sale and tally the proceeds.

More than 140 families, plus a contingent of single men with no family in the area, found all they needed as gifts of clothing, toys, accessories, toiletries, and kitchen appliances – the favorite by far being blenders, to make guacamole and other traditional dishes.

Directors Sisters Fran Liston and Pam Wagner report that there were enough donations for all the shoppers, as well as items left for an Easter gift shop and other occasions.

In their Thank You letter, Sisters Pam and Fran conveyed their thanks in these words:

Epiphany moments remind us that we are all ONE family
       among whom God chooses to dwell…

Thank you for being gift-bearers of light and hope,
       during this Christmas season,
      for the people of Mustard Seed

 

Our Lady of Good Counsel High School:

The students at GCA High School created an Advent Tree decorated with paper ornaments, each of which named a gift to be purchased for the children, families, or developmentally disabled adults served by Cardinal McCloskey Community Services.

The students then purchased gifts, and, shortly before Christmas,
Mr. Camacho, facilities manager, gathered the gifts – a pile worthy of Santa’s bag – for transport.

McCloskey Services thanked the students for being among the donors of more than 10,000 gifts
this Christmas.

Compassion at Christmas

Here are some of the projects by which a few of our ministries reached out to those in need at Christmas:

Our Lady of Sorrows School, White Plains, NY:
 The students had a “Giving Tree,” to collect gifts for individual families, parish shut-ins, Shepherd’s Flock, children in North Central Bronx Hospital, and Westchester Jewish Services.

They also played Penny Bingo on the last day of school and all monies raised went to charity.
(Thanks, Sr. Cecile Larizza!)

Kennedy Catholic High School, Somers, NY:
Kennedy students signed up to buy gifts for a boy or girl at Mustard Seed Migrant Ministry in Goshen, NY.

They bought and wrapped 84 gifts and then headed to Mustard Seed for a party on the 29th. Several of the girls who spent a week as volunteers at Mustard Seed last summer went to help out at the party.
(Thanks, Sr. Barbara Heil!)

Shepherd’s Flock, White Plains, NY:
By tapping the resources of local businesses and parishes, Sr. Alice Conrad gathered gifts for 97 families plus 468 other children living in local shelters and agencies. Some of the donors were: Curves, Knights of Columbus, Holy Name Parish in Valhalla, Our Lady of Sorrows Parish in White Plains, and Bloomingdale’s.

One of the Sisters present at the presentation of gifts by the employees at Bloomingdale’s reported:

“The employees chose Sr. Alice and Shepherd’s Flock as their Christmas Activity.  They were given many items on ‘wish lists’ drawn up by the families.

“On December 15, at 8 am, before the store opened, executives and employees of Bloomingdale’s gathered, amid cocoa and cookies, singing ‘Sister Alice is coming to town.’

“Santa came in full regalia and some speeches were made. Santa was asked about his elves and the gifts, and then down from the escalators came about 30 employees laden with gigantic bags filled with beautifully wrapped gifts.  My estimate is that there were well over 200. Tears actually came to my eyes.  It was fantastic.”
(Thanks, Sr. Gertrude Kallenbach!)

Preston Center of Compassion, Bronx, NY:
   The Preston High School girls ran a “New Glove, Hat and Scarf Drive” from Mid-November to Mid-December. The 60+ donations were distributed via LAMP Ministry’s outreach van, which provides food along with evangelization of those in need.

 

 

 

In addition, CoCo (Center Of COmpassion) made 30 packs of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with two snacks and juice or Gatorade drink bags and delivered them to LAMP for distribution, as well.

(Thanks, Margaret Damo!)