Day 189: Donations to Children's Library

Hello! Bianca here. Today, on the way to my Friday library study shift, I noticed a sale at the Children's Library about a block away from my dorm. They were selling donated books, and all of the money was going to benefit the Children's Library. The library holds lots of functions throughout the year, including open circle readings open to the children of Philadelphia (another volunteer opportunity that I am considering!) I got several books out of the deal; hopefully I will have time to read them in the near future. And I am so glad to support the library kids- I see them walking in and out from time to time and they are too cute!

Day 188: Keeping the local Seniors smiling with Daddy's Cookies

Back, yet again by popular demand! The now infamous Daddy's Cookies went straight from the oven to our Sherborn Council on Aging friends who held their Drop In Luncheon today.

Day 187: Volunteering at the Salvation Army Kitchen

Patricia and Sophia here....with me as the scribe for our volunteer experience at the local Salvation Army kitchen, located in nearby Framingham. We had signed up to serve dinner tonight, through a project sponsored by St. Theresa's, but we really didn't know what to expect. When we arrived, we found the point person from our parish, who immediately had us working; there was lots to do as they were short on volunteers tonight. I barely had time to snap a picture!
Sophia was immediately asked to set up the cupcakes for dessert.The diner-in-waiting that was watching her asked "Are those special cupcakes?" Which of course, to the knowing meant, "Are they made with drugs?" So I quickly responded, "Yes, they are special, like all the food that was made for you tonight". But it didn't end there. He said to Sophia, "You know, special cupcakes are made with marijuana in them." Naturally, my daughter the recent D.A.R.E graduate knew to say, "None of that stuff here!" It was then that I knew I would not let Sophia out of my sight! So together we poured all the lemonades, tossed the salad, washed all the trays and helped clean up all the tables at the finish. It was a remarkable experience, really, for Sophia to be working amidst such diversity and "curiousity." We were surprised to learn that the diners are all asked to be silent and remove hats for prayer before the meal, and that everyone (regardless of their presentation or orientation) is enormously gracious and patient, and that most diners were very sweet in offering gratitude for our support. We both agreed that those individuals who organize and execute these meals are to be commended. Truly, it takes a village.
So we left, waving to all our new friends clustered outside the Salvation Army entry, only to discover that the van was not working properly and sounded like one of those way to loud mortorcycles, only letting us crawl out of town at 15 mph. Which we did, since breakfast with our new buddies was not the preferred option! So we are home and now off to the local Auto Repair shop for a new muffler. But at least we have a roof and warm meals every night, right?

Day 186: Donation to Food Pantry

On the way into church this morning, I was happy to drop two bags of non-perishable foods to be picked up tomorrow and taken from St. Jude's to a larger food bank at Sacred Heart. I didn't realize just which group of people in the parish took care of the delivery from our church to the other, but upon asking another parishioner was told the St. Vincent de Paul Society did this. Oddly enough, today was the Feast of St. Vincent de Paul, so I felt good that I was helping the cause on this particular day. This group does a lot of charitable work anonymously especially at the coming holidays with complete Turkey dinners at Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners along with gifts for each member of a family. With so many people out of work, they will be very busy this Fall.

Day 185: Supporting City Year in the name of very special people

Hello All....this entry is from the newest member of "Club 50", in honor of my dear brother and sister in law, Jim and Meredith, who were two of the very special people who made this occasion especially memorable. A full birthday weekend, which started on Friday with the surprise arrival of Bianca home from college, then continued with my wonderful parents coming to dinner, then went on with amazingly creative and sentimental gifts from my three incredible daughters.... plus thoughtful phone calls, emails, cards and presents from loving family and friends..... gosh, all this love made me think that this "event" was worth happening 10 years ago!
Well....only sort of.

My big-birthday extravaganza ended with Jim and Meredith welcoming Paul and I to join them for dinner and theater in Boston last night, as their guests. We had such a terrific time appreciating the simplicity of just being together and enjoying each other's friendship. The fab food and awesome theater was an extremely close second to the delight in just treasuring time shared.
So that got me thinking...why not dedicate today's service blog to two wonderful people who clearly appreciate , and value, community service? Jim and Meredith's three children have all participated in the Boston-based City Year program, and like their parents, continue to live lives that support important global causes. We are happy to have made a donation to City Year in their name. Thank you, Jim and Meredith, for making a difference in this world and for making my big-birthday- "sans-Marie", more bearable. Luv Ya tons,
Patricia

http://www.cityyear.org/

Day 184: Food for St. Theresa's Food Pantry

Hello all, Sophia here. Ttoday was another easy Sunday where we donated a couple items to the food panty to the St. Theresa Parish. The basket was the fullest we have seen it yet which made us very happy to contribute. At the end of Mass, we also took a handout with all of the ways to participate with our church and information and volunteer opportunities at the Salvation Army dinner this week. We hope to look further into allof these opportunites to help our community!

Day 183: Children's Hospital Boston

Paul here.  We had a great time celebrating Patricia's 50th birthday last night, with the best present being Bianca came home for the weekend to surprise her Mum.  Bianca is working extremely hard, but is looking forward to her work study job at CHOP (Children's Hospital of Philadelphia).  With that in mind, I thought it would be great to donate the money Roche Bros. gives you for each re-used bag, to the Children's Hospital of Boston.  It's a great program and the money goes to all sorts of programs, like helping people deal with having their children in extended hospital stays.  We have been so lucky with our kids, premature birth and occasional emergency room visits notwithstanding.  It's great to support a locally owned company (Roche Bros) and an organization that helps kids and their families deal with the misfortune of illness.