Monthly Food and Clothing Drive: (seasonal) We collect food and clothing donations from parishioners in Lewis Hall on the first Sunday of the month until 12:00pm, except during July and August or as otherwise announced in the bulletin. Additionally, canned food may be left in the food bin in the church vestibule. During the collection, parishioners may also purchase merchandise certificates for grocery stores, which are distributed to those in need for buying food and over-the-counter medicine. In November and April, we use the food collected to make Thanksgiving and Easter baskets, filled with non-perishable items and a grocery store certificate for turkey or ham and other perishable items.
We collect all clothing except socks and underwear, and especially try to meet specific needs such as children’s clothes and business outfits. We ask that you please label the bag (male or female, adult or child, and size). Most of the collection is directed to the Interfaith Clothing Center. Winter coats are collected in conjunction with the Coats of Many Colors program of Catholic Charities.
Service Sunday: (suspended) All parishioners are invited to join us in Lewis Hall on the first Sunday of the month, excluding July and August, from 10:30am to 12:30pm for service opportunities in conjunction with our monthly Food and Clothing Drive. We need assistance sorting, loading and delivering the food and clothing. We also make snack bags for various groups including shelters and the children at Linkages to Learning. In addition, each month we provide various seasonal projects in which parish children can participate. The Religious Education Students, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Brownies, Daisy Scouts, and Confirmation Candidates assist us on a regular basis. This is an opportunity for parishioners of all ages to come together and build community. Please join us!
Student Service Learning Hours: We assist in providing volunteer service learning hours through various opportunities at the parish. Opportunities can range from one-time projects to longer commitments.
Farmer’s Market Produce Gleaning: Unsold produce is picked up by volunteers on Saturdays from the Farmers Market in Garrett Park, generously donated by Chicano Sol Farm. The produce is distributed to needy individuals, transitional housing facilities, and soup kitchens.
Christmas Giving Tree: For over 25 years, we have sponsored the annual “Giving Tree” to provide Christmas gifts to those in our community who might not otherwise be remembered at Christmas. It gives the entire parish a chance to bring the spirit of Christ to those less fortunate and lets recipients know that others care about them.
The Social Concerns Committee receives lists of recipients from various agencies and communities in need. Each name supplied by an agency has the person’s name (first only), age, gender, and requested gift. These lists are used to make individual tags to decorate the tree. We usually have 500 to 1000 tags. Parishioners are given two to three weeks to select a tag and provide the requested gift or an item appropriate to the age and gender listed. Parishioners have always been very generous and return a truly huge number of wrapped gifts to place beneath the tree. The Committee gathers any tags remaining on the tree and, using funds from the Social Concerns treasury, buys and wraps a gift to go with each tag so that no potential recipient is without a gift.
On the designated Sunday in December, we again call for parishioner assistance – this time to sort and deliver the gifts to the agencies for final distribution. The members of Holy Cross parish always respond so generously and joyfully with their time that the gifts are sorted, bagged, and on their way in one to two hours. If you would like to help us with our next Giving Tree project in December, please let us know by emailing us!
Holy Cross Driver Program: Volunteer drivers are matched with parishioners who request rides to Mass, medical visits and other places. Please contact [email protected] if you need a ride or if you can be a volunteer driver.
Contact: [email protected]