St. Mary Service Club makes Blessing Bags

BY BILL DOYLE
CFP CORRESPONDENT

SHREWSBURY – Sixth-graders Griffin Faucher and Sean Kelly wrote notes of blessings on blue and red paper hearts for the gallon bags that fellow members of the St. Mary Elementary School Service Club filled with snacks and personal-care items.
They were making Blessing Bags that would be distributed to homeless people beginning the weekend of Palm Sunday.
Griffin and Sean, who are both 12 and live in Shrewsbury, wrote such greetings as, “Have a great day from St. Mary School,” “We’re thinking of you,” and “Have a blessed day.”
“To make them feel appreciated,” Griffin said.
In January, Helen Collins, Service Club adviser and fifth- and sixth-grade English language arts teacher at St. Mary, suggested conducting a fund-raiser to create and hand out Blessing Bags to homeless people.
“It’s always tugged at my heart,” she said. “So, I offered the idea up to the group and they were very keen on doing it.”
“I feel like it’s a great idea and really needs to happen,” Griffin said, “because a lot of people on the streets don’t really have anything to eat or drink and don’t have any hygiene so I think it’s a great project.”
The club has also conducted book drives for the Columbus Park Preparatory Academy in Worcester and served breakfast after a Mass of Remembrance. The school has presented Christmas gifts to refugee families and supported students in Haiti during Lent, but this is the first time in Msgr. Michael Rose’s 18 years as St. Mary Parish’s pastor that the school has helped the homeless in this way.
During February break, the students, accompanied by their parents, visited local stores to ask for donations. Stop & Shop gave $50 and Trader Joe’s donated 60 granola bars. Mrs. Collins instructed the students how to politely ask for donations and to thank the stores even if they declined.
Acting principal Jeannie MacDonough recommended asking the parents of St. Mary children to also donate as part of a Lenten project. They responded by contributing nearly all of the $1,614.40 collected, which far surpassed the fund-raising goal.
A former St. Mary family, who wishes to remain anonymous, contributed about half of that total after learning about the project from a Facebook posting by Tina Gillaspie, St. Mary’s marketing and advancement director.
“I started thinking about this and introducing it to the kids back in January,” Mrs. Collins said, “and here we are in Lent and just before Holy Week when we’re actually ready to do this and to have it come full circle. I just have to give that up to God and say, ‘Thanks for helping out with this.’”
Mrs. Collins said whatever money that was left over would be donated to the St. Anne Parish Food Pantry in town.
“This is a wonderful project,” Msgr. Rose said. “Blessing Bags are a beautiful way for them to express their faith and to help others in need in a very helpful and appropriate way.”
Fifteen students in grades five through eight belong to the Service Club.
Mrs. Collins researched online to learn which items should fill Blessing Bags and the club purchased the items at Ocean State Job Lot, Dollar Tree and Stop & Shop with the funds that were raised.
After school on March 30, the students filled each of the 144 gallon plastic bags with a water bottle, a chocolate chip granola bar, a Nutri-Grain bar, cheese and crackers, sanitizing wipes, tissues, toothbrush, toothpaste, lip balm, socks, comb and a note of blessing.
The following day, just two days before Palm Sunday, about half of the bags were distributed before and after school to parents of St. Mary’s students so they could give them to unsheltered people in the Worcester area during Holy Week.
The remainder of the bags were made available to parishioners at Mass to distribute.
“It makes me feel like I’m helping out the community,” Sean said, “and we really should be doing this. It’s the right thing to do.”
Griffin said his family planned to keep the Blessing Bag in the car and give it to a homeless person they see on the street.
“I’ve seen them all over the place and we usually don’t have a lot to give to them,” Griffin said.
“It just warms my heart,” Mrs. Collins said. “They see unsheltered people, I’m sure, and to be able to reach in their backseat and hand them something and smile at them, I think is going to mean a lot.”
The project prompted the students to view unsheltered people in a new light.
“A lot of times we don’t even realize how much we have and how fortunate we are and privileged,” Sean said. “I couldn’t imagine living out in the streets so that’s why we’re doing this whole project so we can help them out.”
Msgr. Rose, associate pastor Father Jose Carvajal and librarian Karen Bigda helped the students and Mrs. Collins fill the bags.
“I’m absolutely thrilled,” Mrs. Collins said while the bags were being filled. “Looking around, everyone’s busy, everyone’s contributing in some way. They are so enthusiastic and working together. Teachers and staff and our parish priest here, everybody chipping in.”
It was a Lenten project that will be remembered for a long time.
“I had several parents say, ‘Bless you for doing this,’” Mrs. Collins said, “and ‘Thank you,’ and ‘What a wonderful thing that you’re doing.’ So there was a lot of gratitude and appreciation.”