PROSPECT HEIGHTS — For Our Lady of the Snows Catholic Academy Principal Joseph Venticinque, Christmas is all about kids helping kids. That’s why every year he encourages students to raise money to help those who are lacking presents at Christmas time.
And there’s even more encouragement: The Tablet’s Bright Christmas fund helps supplement the money the students raise on their own.
The student council organizes the fundraiser to which the students and The Tablet both contribute.
All age groups, from 3-year-olds to eighth graders, are invited to buy a plain paper ornament for 25 cents, challenging them to add colors and designs with a splash of creativity.
“In this way, the kids have ownership of it,” said Venticinque. “They know what they are doing. They purchase the little ornament, and then they (decorate) it all on their own time, and not in class.”
The students know that their modest “seed money” can grow into a sizable fund with a meaningful purpose. Their generosity draws in the partnership of Bright Christmas, whose traditional goal is to ensure that no child goes without a toy at Christmas.
Many of the kids investing quarters at Our Lady of the Snows may understand the “art” of the deal better than the end-results from their pursuit of holiday beauty.
This school project is part of a giant partnership network which, over the past 10 years, has generated more than $1 million.
Money from the Bright Christmas campaign is used to purchase presents and food and other necessities, as well as materials that teach the faith.
The “deal” keeps getting better, thanks to generous donors of all ages living across the Diocese of Brooklyn and beyond. Last year alone, The Tablet received in excess of $106,000.
It was all directed to diocesan and parish-based groups, as well as religious education programs, that requested resources to pass along to the many people with pressing needs. During the current Christmas season, the hope is to raise $115,000 or more.
Inspiration from the 25-cent ornaments spreading fresh designs and artistic joy around the Our Lady of Snows community reminds us of the basics: The Bright Christmas fund’s big totals can trace their “grass roots” back to the big hearts of students decorating their modest Christmas tree.
Social Studies fifth grade teacher Elizabeth Flynn, who also serves as the moderator for the student council, explained that students in OLS are encouraged early on, from kindergarten, to help those in need — in their Floral Park neighborhoods, throughout the Diocese of Brooklyn, and even internationally through an affiliation with the Peace Corps.
decorated ornaments for Our Lady of the Snows Christmas tree helped raise money for Bright Christmas.
“For over 10 years we’ve been involved with Bright Christmas,” Venticinque said, giving students an opportunity to buy a tree ornament, decorate it, and use it to adorn a tree posted “outside the school office” to reflect solidarity and spirit.
“What the student council does is try to help those locally in Floral Park. We collect food on the first Friday of every month to help those in need in our community,” Flynn explained. “And then we branch out a little more at Christmas to help Brooklyn and Queens to have a bright Christmas with the ornaments.”
Venticinque explained that the members of the student council run the school fundraiser and go to each classroom to hand out flyers and explain the importance of the campaign.
“Like missionaries, they come in and talk about why they need to raise the money and that the money is going to help those in need,” Venticinque said. “And they get to take pride in this beautiful six-foot tree that they decorated themselves.”