WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The religious education students at the Parish of Sts. Patrick and Raphael used the season of penance and sacrifice as a time to brighten the lives of others.
The program's first- through fifth-graders on Monday wrapped up a six-week Lenten service project of collecting food for the Williamstown food pantry and books for children in the juvenile court system.
The pantry, which is based in the Sts. Patrick and Raphael Parish Center, primarily serves residents of Williamstown, Hancock, New Ashford and Pownal, Vt.
Director Carol DeMayo said the pantry receives donations from a wide range of donors, and the children in the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine classes were enthusiastic contributors.
"It's a giant wheel," DeMayo said. "The hub is the families we serve, and there are an awful lot of things that go around as those spokes: other churches, other civic organizations, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Rotary, Lions, things like that. Private people who don't necessarily have a religion because even though we're in a church building, they know anyone can come."
DeMayo said schoolchildren are frequent donors to the pantry.
"Pine Cobble does a 100th-day collection every year," she said. "They bring in at least a hundred items. Mount Greylock does a collection. That was the seventh and eighth grades this year. And when I went to talk to them, I asked how many of them have I met or worked with in the past. At least half the hands went up."
In addition to regular hours each month for eligible recipients, the food pantry makes regular deliveries to families in need. Earlier this month, fifth-graders in the Sts. Patrick and Raphael CCD program helped DeMayo make some of those deliveries.
Older pupils at Williamstown Elementary may recall a non-food donation drive at the school a a few years ago. In December 2012, then-Mount Greylock senior Katherine Chenail and junior Emily Kaegi collected more than 900 used stuffed animals for a program to benefit children in the region's juvenile court system.
This year, the children of Sts. Patrick and Raphael were asked to participate in a similar drive, this time contributing books instead of toys.
"Kids love books, whether it's board books for the younger children up to chapter books," said Judge Jude Chenail, a parishioner. "For this group of kids, who tend to be marginalized … to be able to send them off with a book is a comforting thought."
Chenail said the juvenile courts in which she serves have a longstanding practice of giving stuffed animals to children who find themselves in the legal system.
"Every once in a while, a person will say, 'I like this Beanie Baby, but I really like books,' " Chenail said. "I love the idea that we can create a safe, healthy, nurturing space for the children, not just with a stuffed animal but also with a book."
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