The Junior Ladies of Charity at St. Mary of the Assumption, Lancaster, NY, were awarded a $150 Hager Grant from the LCUSA for their 2020 Winter Warmth Bags project. The girls submitted the grant application in February 2020 and completed the project in January 2021.
The girls started the project last winter and early spring by watching for clearance sales and purchasing winter hats, gloves, scarves and warm socks– almost 300 items for needy men, women and children. They also collected 67 gently used tee shirts and made reusable bags out of them during the spring and summer months. The original plan was to place sets of the warm winter items into the bags and donate them to soup kitchens, food pantries and homeless shelters in Buffalo.
Unfortunately, due to Covid-19, local organizations were unable to accept the tee shirt bags, since they were not brand new. So instead, the girls donated the warm winter items to The Response to Love Center, Gerard Place families, and their second grade pen pals at Buffalo Public School #6 on South Division Street. The organizations were thrilled to receive the donations and are distributing them to those in need. As for the tee shirt bags, Gerard Place accepted them for use in their community outreach program for food distribution in the near future.
The girls not only spent the $150 grant, but also more than $350 from their treasury – and many girls personally donated items for the project, which they purchased on their own. During this uncertain time, this project allowed the Junior Ladies to continue serving our community and make a difference to the many people this project touched.
The girls are already in the process of planning a new project for 2021 and will be submitting their Hager Grant application to the LCUSA in February.