This week Donna Swantner Tobin ’80 shares the impact of the Academy community’s generosity for Christmas Baskets with clients she serves at Sts. Joachim and Ann Care Service.
During the weeks leading up to Christmas each year, I recall the times my sisters and I would help my mother make a special grocery list, shop together, and then carefully pack a large basket of food and holiday goodies for the family who would receive our basket following the annual Christmas Basket Mass at the Academy. We would often wonder about the family who received our basket. Did they like it? Did it make their Christmas day a little brighter? While at the Academy, activities like preparing Christmas Baskets led me to an awareness of needs in our local community and how my actions could have an impact on others.
Today, as Director of Development at The Care Service, I have the privilege of meeting the families who receive some of the Christmas Baskets. Each year more than 3,000 individuals in our local area turn to The Care Service when facing a housing crisis or food insecurity. More than 300 households rely on our three food pantries every week to meet one of their most basic needs. When you hug a mom as she cries, grateful to be able to feed her child on Christmas, you understand the true meaning of a Christmas Basket. It is more than a gift of food; it is a gift of love and hope.
On behalf of The Care Service, I want to thank my Academy family for the incredible impact Christmas Baskets have on so many families and our community. The Care Service has been blessed to receive many Christmas Baskets over the years, and each year new families are able to experience not only a wonderful holiday meal, but the knowledge that someone in our community cares about them enough to pack a special basket just for them. As a proud Academy alumna, I am overwhelmed by the generosity of the Academy families who are committed to showing God’s love by serving others.
