Saint Mary Mokena parishioners are bringing smiles to 700 people in need this Christmas season after their generous participation in the annual gift collection.
Back in November, parishioners picked gift tags off a Christmas tree in the narthex. Each tag had a label with a person’s name, along with their Christmas gift wish. This past weekend, parishioners brought the gifts and tags back to church.
Once the gifts arrived, roughly 50 teens and eighth grade volunteers, along with a few adults, got to work. Like little elves, they sorted and bagged the gifts to be sent to their destination.
This year, the gifts went through the following agencies to get to their happy recipients: Daybreak Center, Warren-Sharpe Community Center, Vilaseca Day Care Center, Trinity Services, and FISH.
An added bonus, in between gift bagging sessions, volunteers unwrapped crayons to be sent to SOURCE Recycling, which will recycle them into chunky crayons for physically handicapped people.
All in all, this annual Saint Mary tradition was a wonderful success and will help spread the joy of our Savior’s birth to those most in need.
The Mokena Marian 