Dear Friends of St. John the Baptist,
As you probably can appreciate, one of our beautiful, Catholic traditions is doing all we can in our lives and in our ministry to assist with the care and feeding of the poor and hungry in our midst. Traditionally, one of the times we do this is in the season of Thanksgiving and Christmas. Although it is hard to believe, Thanksgiving is only three weeks away. Therefore, I would like to ask and encourage your help in our first annual Thanksgiving Food Drive. We are blessed that Cynthia Quintanilla, one of our parishioners, is the executive director of the local Catholic Charities, and has agreed to help us in this endeavor. If you would like to assist in the food drive, we ask you to bring any of the following items between now and Sunday, November 22nd.
~ Canned Goods (vegetables, fruit)
~ Turkeys
~ Bread or Rolls
~ Stuffing
~ Mashed Potatoes
~ Pies or Desserts
You can bring these items during office hours, or after weekend Masses. The items will be used to organize thanksgiving baskets for families in need. If you cannot bring any of the items mentioned, you are also welcome to bring monetary donations or gift cards that will help us provide for the baskets.
The Knights of Columbus have also offered their assistance in providing the items needed. If you wish to collaborate with the Knights, please contact Andy & Stan at stjb.knights@gmail.com. You are also welcome to collect items as a family, a ministry group at St. John the Baptist, or individually. The important thing is for all of us to support the food drive, and collect as many items as possible, so that we can deliver baskets to as many families as we can before Thanksgiving.
Additionally, on the weekend of November 22nd, we will need volunteers to help deliver the baskets to needy families designated by Catholic Charities. I would also ask that, if you know of a family living in the city that is in need of a thanksgiving meal, please let us know by emailing or calling the parish office by no later than Tuesday, November 17th at 5:00pm.
I hope that this will be the first of many annual Thanksgiving Food Drives. May St. John the Baptist Catholic Church always be known as a community that loves and cares for the poor and needy.