By Christina Leslie |Correspondent

St. Gregory the Great Parish was recognized as a “shining light” by the Interfaith Caregivers of Greater Mercer County at its awards banquet Oct. 24 in the Mercer Oaks Golf Course, West Windsor.

The Hamilton Square parish’s Helping Hands ministry was feted for its thousands of hours of volunteer service to area elderly and disabled homebound over the past 18 years. Interfaith Caregivers of Greater Mercer County is a nonprofit organization established in 1994 to improve the quality of life and help meet the concerns and special needs of the homebound elderly and people with disabilities in Mercer County. Its mission is to promote the independence and dignity of homebound elderly and people by matching them with volunteers to assist with tasks of independent living: transportation to doctors’ offices, grocery shopping, light chores, friendly visits and other non-medical help.

In 2012, 253 active volunteers from 26 interdenominational congregations provided 11,820 hours of free ICGMC caregiving services to over 300 homebound seniors and people with disabilities throughout Mercer County. St. Gregory the Great Parish has been an integral outreach part of ICGMC since its inception; last fiscal year, the parish’s Helping Hands Ministry, with nine group leaders and 104 active volunteers, provided 1,774 hours of service to nearly 100 homebound seniors and people with disabilities.

Gabriela Sikorski Gill, bilingual volunteer coordinator for ICGMC, explained the selection of St. Gregory the Great Parish as an award recipient was clear. “It’s our largest member parish with the most volunteers,” Gill noted.

“In the past 10 years, they gave us 19,000 hours of service from [on average a total of] over 50 people.”

Gill expressed appreciation for the parish’s strong volunteer presence in the Mercer County area. “It’s neighbor helping neighbor,” she said, noting, “anyone who is interested and who can make a difference, is willing to give the time, and has a heart for the mission is welcome. Lots of the volunteers don’t even report their hours anymore. They say they have made a friendship.”

Other 2013 ICGMC Shining Light winners included Carol Olivieri, (former) executive director of Princeton’s Health Care Ministry; Ann Cannon, a Mercer County freeholder, and the Danellie Foundation which gives assistance to women and children from N.J., Philadelphia and Baltimore. St. Gregory the Great’s website recognizes their volunteers’ dedication and continuation of the Gospel message while encouraging more parishioners to follow their lead.

“As we continue to stress, one of the main thrusts of our parish life is care of the poor, whether they be the materially poor, the sick, the lonely, or the aged with no family,” it reads. “May this recognition provide renewed awareness of this important mission as we continue to worship God and live our Catholic faith authentically.”