Dear Parishioners,

Each Monday night for over 600 consecutive weeks, students and volunteers at Walsh Jesuit High School participate in a ministry called Labre. They go to the streets of Akron to pass out food and offer friendship to the homeless and marginalized. They often can be seen bringing hygiene supplies and dry socks and gloves (a commodity if you’re homeless).

IHM’s Parish Pastoral Council member, Dee Girard, brought the suggestion to the Walsh Jesuit High School Campus Minister, Tim Dunn that a CHRISTMAS hot meal could be done by our parish for the Monday, December 23rd, 2019 Labre ministry!

I supported the suggestion as a wonderful addition to our parish annual events. So, our Parish Council has teamed up with the Athletic Association to make and bring a hot meal to the homeless on that Monday before Christmas in tandem with the WJHS Labre ministry!

Dee Girard, from our Parish Pastoral Council, will work with Joanna Patterson from the Athletic Board and coordinate making the meal for this Monday before Christmas Walsh Jesuit High School Labre ministry! There will be several Walsh Jesuit students and some IHM students helping in this endeavor, as a joint venture.  In particular our IHM grade school students will be making gift bags to hand out as well: warm gloves, Chap Stick, socks, and individually wrapped packets of crackers, oatmeal and granola bars, etc. See the boxes in our church vestibules for donating these items.

On the day of the meal, Monday, December 23rd, 2019 they will also coordinate the students who would be working together to help package the meals and prep the vans to go out to the homeless and marginalized.

The Athletic Association traditionally has held a fund raising basketball shoot-a-thon in December and this year will help our Parish Pastoral Council by offering some of the funds made to sponsor this hot meal for Christmas!

But, we will need a bit more financial assistance from parishioners. If anyone can please offer a $10.00 donation, please, mark an envelope with your gift: DECEMBER MEAL FOR THE AKRON HOMELESS. Place the envelope in the collection basket or bring it to the Rectory.

In addition to this financial assistance if anyone is interested in baking cookies to offer the homeless for their meal, please contact Dee Girard (330-603-7160/Girard6@att.net) or Joanna Patterson (330-607-0845/Joanna@vizphoto.com) to arrange drop off.
These are good things our parish is doing!

Many blessings,
Father Jim