by Marian Snyder
The Junior Ladies of Charity from St. Mary’s Parish in Lancaster were very busy this past winter spreading holiday cheer all over Erie County! This year the girls chose to partner with Buffalo Prenatal/Perinatal Center for the first time, to select two single-parent families with young children to sponsor for Christmas. The girls formed two shopping teams and paired up to shop for each family member. The Center was able to provide us with names, ages, sizes and a wish list for each family member, making the shopping an easy task. The girls then brought all the gifts to their December meeting, presented what they had bought and then wrapped the gifts. The group also purchased a set of pots and pans for one family and blankets for a second family. Each family also received a generous Tops gift card.
The Juniors also assembled 14 gift bags with personal care items and cleaning supplies for the families at Gerard Place on Bailey Ave. in Buffalo. That organization provides transitional housing for mothers with young children. The girls have partnered with Gerard Place for many years providing donations for various occasions.
Also in December, the girls then filled 19 large Christmas stockings with candy and trinkets for their 2nd grade pen pals at Buffalo Public School #6 on S. Division St. They had also recently provided them with new winter hats, gloves and scarves. The teacher has since sent us heartwarming videos of the children receiving those gifts! It was such a treat to see the joy the gifts brought them! Our girls have since sent the pen pals a video as well, plus new letters with their photos attached! We hope to meet the children for a picnic in June!
At our December meeting, the Junior Ladies brought 250 undecorated Christmas cut-out cookies, to frost and decorate. They packaged them up for the 100 residents at Symphony Manor in Lancaster. Plates of cookies were also delivered to St. Mary’s Rectory and Faith For-mation Office. The Junior Ladies also met with our St. Mary’s Ladies of Charity for a joint project to assemble 100 Christmas mugs full of assorted candy for Symphony Manor.
Our Junior Ladies of Charity at St. Mary’s currently consists of 19 young ladies from around the area in 6th grade thru senior high.
2 thoughts on “Buffalo NY Junior Ladies of Charity: Winter Update”
How wonderful to read this article. I will keep these young ladies in my prayers.
Wow! What an amazing outreach these young gals have undertaken….and how appreciative the recipients must have been….kindness in giving certainly goes a long way, both for the volunteers as well as those on the receiving end….Congratulations; indeed inspiring (& the future of Ladies of Charity)!!!!