By EMMALEE ITALIA
Contributing Editor
As social concerns chair the past 20 years for St. Alphonsus Parish, Hopewell, collecting various items for those in need is par for the course for Sharon Skibbee. However, when dropping off a collection of gently used books for Mercer CYO Summer Camp last year, she asked if anything else was needed.
“What would be great,” said Debora Grier, CYO’s East State Street Center director, “is camp supplies for summer.”
That was all Skibbee needed to hear. As a member of the St. Alphonsus pastoral council, she presented the need, and it was immediately approved to run a summer toy drive for CYO.
“I asked for a list of needed items from teachers; one of them even went on Amazon.com to compile items,” she said.
Requests included outdoor items like beach toys, hula hoops, jump ropes, bubbles, dinosaur eggs, glow sticks and instant snow powder, as well as rainy day indoor options such as beads for necklace-making, markers, acrylic paint sets, magnetic tiles and games. Skibbee prepared a toy drive announcement to appear in bulletins of the Catholic Community of Hopewell Valley’s linked parishes of St. Alphonsus, St. George, Titusville, and St. James, Pennington – and donations began to pour in from May 31 to June 8.
“Several of our parishioners contacted me asking what other items were needed in addition to the ones listed,” Skibbee said. “I had a huge list, which is awesome.”
“These kids were just so happy,” Skibbee said of the CYO campers who were present for the toy delivery. “They are not spoiled … they are so appreciative of everything they get.”
The social concerns committee of CCHV has worked closely with Catholic Charities Diocese of Trenton as well as Mount Carmel Guild, Trenton, and Skibbee has organized annual gently used clothing drives, summer cereal drives and Easter basket drives on their behalf. Book drives have continued every three years for CYO as well as CCDOT and MCG, with excess available for local women’s crisis centers.
“Last year the CYO kids who were photographed asked if they could keep the books,” Skibbee recalled. “I told them since they were in the picture, they could keep three. You should have seen their faces.”
“From a teachers perspective, the jump ropes, hula-hoops, footballs, bubbles, balloons, all outdoor equipment helped with the children’s motor skills, physical activities and just wiggled their sillies away,” Grier attested. “The Uno cards and table games, and mind crafts, stem activities, jewelry craft, and art supplies allow the children to be creative and individual geniuses.”
Grier shared her gratitude to the parishioners who “have so kindly donated – please note that it is definitely appreciated and needed. There are so many different groups and so many students that three packs of Uno cards shared amongst 90 campers is unheard of. Trying to make bracelets with 40 girls, and only three kits designed for 18 girls, is uniquely done. Teachers become talented using paperclips and macaroni noodles.”
For those who would still like to assist with donations, Grier had several suggestions.
“Individuals can always search for age appropriate children’s activities on Amazon and Oriental Trading,” she said. “If they want to send a treat on Friday – a freeze pop, Italian ice, pizza, individual bags of chips, cookies, and pretzels would be wonderful. Juice boxes and small bottles of water quench the thirst and cool the children on these hot summer days.”
Links for donation ideas are available below:
https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/3OK7FJKCO78XZ?ref_=wl_share
https://www.orientaltrading.com/web/shoppingcart
To learn more about CYO needs directly, contact Debora Grier, dgrier@cyomercer.org, 609-396-8383 x 21.
July In Focus: Season of Faith