We are hard at work in the final stages of the annual Christmas Program. Thanks to the generosity of multiple parishes and individuals throughout the country, over 800 kids will be receiving store-bought presents that they otherwise could not afford.
We will post pictures as the dates draw nearer.
Anyone wishing to help purchase gifts may contact Outreach Director Audrey Collins at 606-789-1967
The following is an article from the Painstville Herald.
JCSO “Full Baskets, Full Bellies” feeds 300 kids
A Paintsville Herald staff report
For the second year, the Johnson County Sheriff’s Department oversaw the “Full Baskets, Full Bellies” project to ensure more than 300 children in need would not go hungry while they are home for two weeks on Christmas Break.
The sheriff’s office began taking donations as far back as October, with volunteers collecting donations at Walmart and Food City.
“Last year, when we began this project, we weren’t sure how many students we would be able to impact,” said Sheriff Dewayne Price. “This year, we were more prepared and aware of the number of students that we would need to impact. With the summer mobile lunch program implemented this past summer, we knew we wanted to reach many of the students that had taken advantage of the summer lunch program. With the help of the family resource center directors, I was able to obtain contact information for many of those students’ parents or guardians. Either Deputy Clark or one of the volunteers contacted those folks and advised them of the project.”
The students received their baskets at one of several giveaway events, including a swimming party, personal deliveries or a day long event at the sheriff’s office.
Sheriff Price said that, in addition to getting the baskets into the hands of the students, he wanted to spend this year meeting them personally.
“Some have never met an officer, others may have had parents arrested,” Price said. “I wanted them to know I, or one of the Johnson County Sheriff’s officers, are always a phone call away.”
Program organizers worked with Audrey Collins of the Piarist School Outreach and Ramanda Penix at the First Methodist Church in Paintsville, and were able to use extra food from the program to help stock the church’s Blessing Box
“Our community projects touch hundreds of people each year,” Price said. “However, this project is the most meaningful to me. We feed kids.”
The Piarist Outreach Program has worked for over 20 years providing clothing, household items, emergency home repairs, school supplies, and more to the families in eastern KY. One of the most important parts of the Outreach Program is the Christmas Drive. Outreach Director Audrey Collins has been working for months with local agencies, local families, and schools across the surrounding five counties to gather names of children living below the poverty line who would not otherwise receive a store bought gift. The project is massive and takes a lot of planning and help from volunteers across the country to carry out.
This year, over 600 kids in the area will be receiving two store bought gifts delivered to them by Santa, Mrs. Claus, and Mrs. Collins herself. Volunteers include parishes and organizations from across the country who tell Collins how many kids for which they can purchase gifts. Mrs. Collins then organizes lists of kids, along with their wants and clothing sizes, to give to each organization. She then must cross-reference each list with the donations as they come in, making sure that no child is left out. After this, she organizes each list of hundreds of kids into deliveries by stop. Over the years, she has become a regular fixture in the hollers and with the families of the area. She has stated often that while the joy on the children’s faces when they see Santa is a glorious thing to behold, she is often drawn to the emotional faces of the mothers during the deliveries.
Currently presents are being bought and shipped by volunteers across the country. The Outreach Program’s Christmas Drive is in full swing. We will post pictures of the preparations and deliveries when they occur later next month.
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