“Make a Difference Day” at St. Joseph’s Parish Donates 750 Sandwiches

Kiley and Taylor Johnson
Kiley and Taylor Johnson help make sandwiches at St. Joseph parish in Somers point.

On Saturday, October 25, Nancy Hickman, coordinator of Catholic Charities’ Family and Community Services Center for Atlantic County, was invited to speak at St. Joseph Church in Somers Point on the importance of service to others. Her talk kicked off the parish’s ‘Make a Difference Day,’ an event that formed part of the diocesan-wide Matthew 25 Project. (More info on the project here).  After her talk, parishioners dispersed into the community to work at various service sites for the day, including a local food pantry, nursing home, and park. She offers some reflections on her day here.

What a blessed day I had on October 25th.  I was privileged to be invited to participate in the Matthew 25 Project ‘Make a Difference Day’ at Saint Joseph’s in Somers Point.  My task was to give a short presentation on what ‘Service to Others’ means, especially in light of the work we do at Catholic Charities, such as our food pantry, programs for the homeless, veterans program, immigration services, Sandy relief, adoption services, etc.  I was delighted to see over 100 people who had signed up to ‘make a difference.’  Moms, dads, grandparents and children of all ages were eager and ready to be given an assignment, to be of service to others, and most importantly to see the face of God in all who they met.

A group of little ones, aged around six to eight, with a few parents and older siblings in the mix, were given the task of making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for Catholic Charities’ food pantry. The tables were lined and ready to go with jars (and jars) of peanut butter and jelly along with loaves of bread.  After the gloves were on, they began to dig in as fast as their little hands would allow.  I put gloves on and pitched in, all the while asking questions: what’s your name, how old are you, what grade are you in, and, by the way, what does “service to others” mean to you?

And you know what, they got it! With sparkling eyes and big grins, they had great answers.  They talked about feeding the poor, and visiting the sick, and being nice to someone, and doing these things because it’s what God wants us to do.

My car left the parking lot loaded with almost 750 PB&J sandwiches, and I left inspired by what I saw and heard that October Saturday.

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