Jane Parker |
In 1991-92, the Ladies of the Sacred Heart began to support Mission Outreach and has been involved ever since. The Angel Tree Program followed shortly thereafter.
Jane directly addressed one of the issues that is occasionally raised by some that there may be a few families that receive benefits from more than one organization. There are precautions in place to prevent this from happening, but a few may slip through the system. However, there are so many families in need, that this issue cannot be a deterrent. Jane related several personal experiences and testimonials to prove her point.
The Christmas Basket Program and the Shoe Fund are coordinated at the Village Outreach level by Nancy Waldo from Holy Trinity Episcopal Church. Based upon their knowledge of family situations, area school counselors provide names of students and their families to Nancy, who in turn gives the names to liaisons from the participating churches. She tries to honor the requests from churches that may have a special relationship with a school or a family, but in general, the assignments are random until all families have been accommodated.
Jane then gave specific information about the 2009 Christmas Basket Program, and invited Ed Keearns to speak about his involvement and to provide some financial information. Sacred Heart of Jesus made up and delivered 36 baskets - 13 by the Ladies of the Sacred Heart and 23 by the Knights ($1,000), the Men’s Club ($625), and 22 individual donations ($1,690) for a $3,315 total. The overall value of the project was $18,000 when the food, gifts, and shoes are included. The Ladies of the Sacred Heart had also provided food for nine families at Thanksgiving.
Other interesting facts about theChristmas Basket project include:
- Each of SHJ’s 103 children received 5 gifts = 515 total ($5,300 value)
- 23 from SHJ delivered the 35 baskets, spending $1,620 for fresh meats and perishable food
- $1,400 (2,800 lbs) of non-perishable food was purchased from Project Hope in Hot Springs at 10% below its purchase price
- SHJ contributed $1,495 to the shoe fund, with 307 children (sponsored by all churches) receiving a $20, $30, or $40 coupon, depending upon their age
- Jane bought 12 gifts for SHJ’s children due to late returns from the angel tree – gifts that arrived after the basket distribution were given to Potter’s Clay and Teen Challenge
In summary, the Village Outreach continues its mission started more than 20 years ago, and Sacred Heart Parishioners under the guidance of Jane Parker contribute their fair share in helping those in need.