For many years, the St. John Christmas Wish program has helped make wishes come true for hundreds of children in our own parishes as well as in our sister parishes of St. Katherine Drexel in Roxbury, St. Patrick in Lowell, and St. Patrick in Brockton. Each child is provided with clothing and a special Christmas Wish gift they have requested, as well as support for the child’s family through much-needed food cards.
At St. Paul, the Giving Tree program has brought Christmas cheer to hundreds of people in need each year, in our parishes and through several local organizations, including the Veterans’ Home in Chelsea, Catholic Charities Sunset Point Camp, The Walker School, and Birthright Framingham.
To help raise awareness about these important efforts and encourage wider participation, these two parish-based Christmas outreach programs have been brought together under the umbrella of Collaborative Christmas Giving. We hope that combining and streamlining our efforts across the parishes will make it easier for more parishioners to participate in these important outreach programs.
Christmas Wish (Begins Mid-October)
Christmas Wish begins in mid-October, with opportunities to sponsor a child/multiple children and/or make a financial donation.
Sign Up to Sponsor
When you sponsor a child/multiple children you will receive a wish list for clothing and a special gift that you will purchase and drop off at a local Wellesley home, which will be delivered to the parishes in Boston, Lowell, and Brockton to be distributed to the families. Your wish list instructions will be emailed to you the week before Thanksgiving and gifts will need to be dropped off the week after Thanksgiving. To sign up click the button below by November 13:
Donate
You can also help make wishes come true by making a financial donation – your contributions allow us to purchase special gifts and gift cards for children who have not been matched with sponsors, and to purchase food cards for the families in our program. To donate click the button below:
If you prefer to donate by check, please make checks payable to your parish and indicate Christmas Wish in the memo. Checks may be put in the collection basket or mailed to/dropped at the Collaborative Offices at 39 Washington St. Wellesley, MA 02481
Giving Tree (Begins Late-November)
Giving Tree is an Advent tradition spreading Christmas cheer to children in our local parishes as well as hundreds of people in need through several local organizations.
The weekend before Thanksgiving, we’ll have boards set up at both churches with gift tag requests. (Christmas trees will replace the boards after Thanksgiving!)
More details coming soon!