St. Therese Catholic Church - Shrine of the Little Flower

An IPad? A Zhu Zhu Pet? Jewelry? A new pair of jeans? A designer purse? A new laptop? … Could these be items on your Christmas list? What are the chances you will get what you have asked for on your Christmas list this year? For some, the chances might be high but for so many others, the chances of getting what they want, or for that matter, what they need are not very high. Thus is the case for the people we met and served as we volunteered at St. Therese Catholic Church located in the Blue Hills neighborhood of mid-town Kansas City, Missouri.

St. Therese Catholic Church is heavily involved in improving and supporting its community from helping to remove drug houses, to fighting crime, to serving their low-income and elderly residents and so much more. It is located in an area of Kansas City that is racially mixed and culturally diverse. St. Therese's parishioners embrace everyone and welcome all. That is evident the first time you step through the doors.

One particular annual service that St. Therese provides is their Christmas Basket Program. Volunteering for this program at St. Therese has actually been an annual tradition for my mom, Therese and me for almost the last 20 years. The seed was planted by my mom as she was the first one to start volunteering there years ago, and she would come home sharing her experiences with me. When I had the opportunity to take off work during that time of the year I joined my mom and experienced first-hand what she was talking about. It wasn't long after that that Therese and her then year-old daughter, Meredith, joined in.

Toiletries, paper goods, liquid items.

Knitted hats from around the country.

Donated bikes.

The Christmas Basket Program gives low-income individuals and families the opportunity to provide presents and food that they might otherwise not have. It is a very organized program. It is set up in the basement of the Church and is sectioned into three different areas. One section allows people to choose age-appropriate gifts for family members. Another section provides staple items like diapers, toiletries, dry goods and a wide variety of paper goods. The third section, which is the section that we volunteer in, provides a large amount of canned goods. In "our" section we were known as "the Bag Ladies" because we were responsible for filling paper sacks with cans of beans, corn, peas, soup, spaghetti sauce and a multitude of other canned goods. By the end of the day, our bodies were sore, our arms were scratched up and our feet were tired but our hearts were full of warmth knowing that this year these families would be able to feed their families, watch their kids open presents and have use of everyday items that we all take for granted.

Therese and Mom filling bags.

Mom and Meredith pulling canned goods.

Sandy and Ernestine checking the client list.

Helping those whom cannot help themselves is very rewarding in itself. This is one reason that we continue to go back year after year. However, another reason that we enjoy volunteering at St. Therese is the people we serve with. There are so many warm and giving volunteers that come from all walks of life that we are privileged to stand next to and work with at St. Therese during this time of year. They come for the same reason that we do … to help those in need and share the grace of God. There is a special bond that has formed over the years with the many people that we have worked with. We may not only see them but once a year but it always seems like it was just yesterday that we stood next to them and filled bags of groceries.

Sandy, Therese and B.J.

Ernestine and Joe

Jo in the Gift section.

Christmas is the time of year that we honor and celebrate the birth of Jesus. Sometimes though the true meaning of Christmas gets lost in the commercialism of finding the most expensive or "perfect" gift for your loved one or the self-centered aspects of our everyday lives and hectic schedules. We forget that the true gift to each other during this time of the year (and every day) is in the gift of giving … giving of one's time and one's talent. Where we see despair in other's lives, and we have the ability to give hope and lift them up, it is incumbent on us to do so.

Sharon (Mom), Ernestine, Sandy, Therese and Joe

Warm covers … a pair of gloves … a Christmas dinner … a simple toy for a toddler. These are items you will find on the Christmas lists of those we served. Nothing fancy like the gifts listed above yet so needed and appreciated by the people who receive them. Giving of our time and volunteering at St. Therese was worth so much more to us than receiving any gift that one could give us this Christmas. May the giving spirit be with you this holiday season and throughout the coming year.

Made by our special little helper, Meredith.

 

 

What gift of time and talent will you give throughout the new year?

Women Build — Habitat for Humanity

There is nothing like the feeling of literally having a hand in knowing that you can contribute to making someone's life just a little bit better. That is the feeling I had when I volunteered with Habitat for Humanity's Women Build program to help in the construction of a new home for a family who would not be able to afford one otherwise.

Unfortunately, this was one of those times where I was not able to participate in a volunteer activity with my sister, Therese, but it was an opportunity I did not want to miss. The selected location for the construction of the new house was at 22nd and Quindaro in Kansas City, KS. When I pulled up, I saw a modest structure with walls already braced up, a roof that had the paper secured on it and the basic shell of a house.

I chose the Women Build program because I wanted to help with the construction of a house but I knew that I was not as saavy when it came to the technical aspects of construction. I already knew how to swing a hammer, lift a paint brush and had some very basic skills but I knew I would need instruction on how to perform the needs or duties that were unfamiliar to me. I thought I would be able to learn better from another experienced woman instructing me and possibly work side-by-side instead of just being an "assistant" as I had experienced in other house building projects I had participated in the past.

The need that day was framing up walls in the basement or installing the composite shingles on the roof … I chose the roof. I had never done anything remotely close to roofing before and I let them know that but I told them if shown, I could learn how to do it. So, throwing any trepidation aside, I climbed up the ladder and spent my day on the roof helping others lay down the composite shingles. Standing on top of the roof, looking down at the other houses in the neighborhood (some where fairly run down), I was reminded as to why I was there ... I was literally helping to put a "roof" over a low-income family's head.

Habitat for Humanity is yet another opportunity for people to involve themselves in something special. Their Women Build program "promotes the involvement of women in the eradication of poverty housing by working on the construction of Habitat houses. Women Build projects provide low-income families with decent, affordable homes and an opportunity for women to learn construction in a supportive, encouraging and empowering environment." 

So, pick up the hammer … what are you waiting for?

How can you "build" up someone else's life and make a difference?