“Boxing Day” came early for American Heritage Girls Troop VA0325 at the Basilica of St. Mary in Alexandria. The first weekend of October, AHG members from kindergarten through middle school stuffed 120 shoebox-sized boxes full of toys and hygiene essentials.
“We’re making boxes for kids less fortunate than us, so they can enjoy a nice Christmas gift,” said AHG member Caroline Pacious.
The Alexandria troop is one of many diocesan parish groups participating with Box of Joy, a ministry of Catholic Cross Outreach, an international nonprofit. Through Box of Joy, groups or individuals pack boxes with toys, school supplies, and hygiene items, which are then sent to children in developing countries, including the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, and Malawi.
“We really wanted to have something that helped foster the Catholic community,” said AHG troop coordinator Katie Myers. “It really brings to light how Jesus can provide for us, even from somebody thousands of miles away.”
“One of the commandments is ‘Love your neighbor as yourself,’ and by doing this, we’re loving our neighbor,” said AHG member Aria Waters.
Entire parishes also get in on the fun. St. Bernadette Church in Springfield has supported Box of Joy for the last five years. “All the community participates,” said Franklin Mendoza, trustee for Knights of Columbus Council No. 6153. The last weekend of October, the Knights handed out 550 boxes after Mass to parishioners, who will fill and return them Nov. 8-9.
“It is a wonderful experience to see the spirit of cooperation with which families come to pick up the boxes, likewise, the joy of the children when they deliver their boxes full of toys, clothing, school supplies and others,” Mendoza said.
For Marilyn Wilkinson, a parishioner of Our Lady of Hope Church in Potomac Falls, Box of Joy has been an eight-year endeavor. “Our family actually supported Box of Joy by donating to them before volunteering with them,” she said. “I felt that volunteering with Box of Joy and helping impoverished children was something that would be meaningful for my children and other young people.”
Her daughter, Anna, 16, makes the ministry a mother-daughter effort. “When I was about 9, my older brother and his friends led Box of Joy in our area for their service group,” Anna said. “I loved helping them wherever I could and was so excited to fill my own box with my mom. Every year since then, I have helped with the project, and finally led it myself this year.”
Last month, Anna and Marilyn led a packing party at Our Lady of Hope, where they filled dozens of boxes with toys, school supplies, clothes, toiletries and accessories. Several weeks prior, students from Our Lady of Hope School and the parish religious education program helped distribute boxes after Mass. Following the packing party, Anna and Marilyn filled 14 shipping containers with the combined 233 boxes before shipping them off to Catholic Cross Outreach.
While it might seem small, just a single gift can make a tremendous difference in the life of a child, Marilyn said. “I think Box of Joy is a great way to live the corporal works of mercy in a tangible way.”
Box of Joy is also a family endeavor for Heather Bryant, a parishioner of St. Ann Church in Arlington. One Christmas in 2016, Heather noticed that many of her daughters’ toys were no longer used but still in pristine condition. “I wanted to know where I could take all of these items so less fortunate children could enjoy them,” she said.
That led to Heather and her daughters Summer and Autumn to fill their first Box of Joy in 2017. They drove to a drop-off center in Middleton, Md. The next year, she launched the ministry at St. Ann, which today is a diocesan drop-off center. Her daughters, now 15 and 16, still continue to help with the annual project. The parish donates more than 700 boxes each year.
“Priests from (Catholic Cross Outreach) come and talk to St. Ann’s parishioners every year, and every year their stories bring tears to everyone’s eyes,” Heather said. “These boxes go to families mostly in Central America and the Caribbean, and most recipients live on dirt floors and have no clean running water or indoor plumbing. The shoeboxes parishioners pack for us will be the only Christmas gift a child will receive.”
For these longtime volunteers, it is a privilege to share Christmas joy with others.
“Since I was young, Christmas has been magical for me,” said Anna Wilkinson of Our Lady of Hope. “When I first heard of the children who had never received a Christmas gift, I knew right away that I wanted to be able to help provide gifts for these children who wish for just one gift.”
Find out more
To learn more about Box of Joy, go to crosscatholic.org/box-of-joy.
