Editor’s Note
We are currently joyfully accepting donations for The Tablet’s Bright Christmas Fund. We are sharing some of the heartfelt letters of gratitude we received from recipients of last year’s campaign, thanks to readers like you.
A Very Bright Christmas
Dear Editor: “Christmas has arrived!” shouted a child as the elevator door opened. Volunteers welcomed guests to a hallway covered with Christmas wrapping paper. Several moms and children with masks on waited their turn to go inside, to choose a toy, and to receive a take-home plate with food and cookies.
Our program, which is the prison ministry at St. Augustine’s, focuses on services to families and children in an attempt to repair families broken by the impact of incarceration. Christmas provides us with an opportunity to heal the emotional pain caused by losing a parent to the prison system and to heal the trauma of growing up in poverty during a festive holiday.
As we had done last year, each family arrived at a specified time, everyone wearing a mask. Every child got to choose a toy and then was given a plate of food to take home. Over 50 children and their moms came to the party.
We could not have done this without help. The contributions to The Tablet’s Bright Christmas Fund helped bring Santa to the families of our clients.
Thank you, everybody. We hope you will join us again next year.
Ellen Edelman
Families, Fathers & Children
Published Jan. 29, 2022
A Generous Thank You
Dear Editor: Thank you to your readers for the generous donation of $5,000 from the Bright Christmas campaign to Providence House. Donors like you are a steadying force for hundreds of vulnerable individuals and families here annually.
Our programs reach out to people whose lives are upended by housing crises, mental illness, justice involvement, and other factors.
With your support, you help them kindle a new vision of what they can achieve and help them discover new skills to reach their goals. This happens across our nine residences and three programs — Family Transitional Shelters, The Women’s Justice Program, and Permanent Supportive Housing.
Most of those we serve live under tremendous anxiety and pressures, year in and year out. We are privileged to join with you to provide them with life-giving hope and concrete plans for building stability and realizing their potential.
Danielle Minelli Pagnotta, LMSW
Executive Director, Providence House
Published Feb. 29, 2022
A Mass for Tablet Readers
Dear Editor: How blessed are the families of Ss. Joachim and Anne, who were chosen to receive the outstanding and delightful gifts that were supplied by the Bright Christmas program. Our 25 families were overwhelmed by the wonderful surprise.
Praying for you and your special intentions. Please know a Mass was said for The Tablet readers and the Bright Christmas Fund on January 22 at Ss. Joachim and Anne Church.
Mrs. Linda Freebes, Principal
Queens Village Published Feb. 29, 2022
Thanks From Catholic Charities
Dear Editor: I am writing today in gratitude for the Bright Christmas Fund’s donation of $10,000 to support Christmas events for clients at the Catholic Charities Brooklyn and Queens GAMA and RAPP Programs. Your commitment will be a blessing to our work, and we are so grateful for your support.
During these challenging times, festive events are a way for our clients to remember the true meaning of Christmas and an opportunity to celebrate with friends and family, a chance they may not have had without our efforts.
These events will be held for members of our Relatives as Parents Program (RAPP) and Grandmothers as Mothers Again (GAMA) program for those who take on parental roles late in life.
Their lives have changed drastically for both young and old, and these events allow them to connect and be around others in similar situations.
Along with creating community, these programs connect each member to the programs and services of Catholic Charities Brooklyn and Queens, allowing us to help these families with whatever needs may arise.
Msgr. Alfred LoPinto
President and CEO, CCBQ
Published Feb. 29, 2022
