 Today was the last day of having the 8th graders from Saints Joseph & Francis Xavier School in Wilmette volunteering at the Food Pantry for the school year. We are grateful for this on-going partnership where the 8th grade class comes every Monday to volunteer at the Food Pantry, and we are looking forward to having a new class in the fall.
Additionally, Franciscan Conventual Postulants, Kole and George, are ending their time with us on May 12th. Postulancy is a year-long program of living within the Franciscan community and learning the living the religious life. (You can learn more here.) We thank all of them for their time and dedication! We thank St. Padre Pio Parish for their generous donation to our parish's Food Pantry at St. Thomas of Canterbury church. Br. Ayub and parishioner Hung loaded up the donation with the help of Eri, a staff member at St. Padre Pio parish.
You can learn more about the wonderful work of our Food Pantry and other Outreach Ministries by clicking here! You can also sign up to volunteer. The Society of St. Vincent de Paul at Mary, Mother of God Parish is launching two special outreach programs for families served through the St. Thomas of Canterbury Food Pantry:
 We are looking for compassionate, organized volunteers to help with:
This is a beautiful opportunity to bring joy and dignity to children in our community. How to Get Involved: Interested in joining us? Please contact Pam Matambanadzo at 📧 email or 📱 224-507-4523 (Text). Thank you for helping us serve with love! 
In the month of April, we have had many generous donations to the Food Pantry. We received $15 grocery store gift certificates from Greater Chicago Food Depositor which we distributed to the guests. Additionally, Michael Velarde donated a large load of items from our wish list. St. Edward's parishioner, Betsy, has been consistently purchasing paper products for the guests at the food pantry which she delivers at least once every month. God Bless all our benefactors! We wish them a blessed Easter season.  A visitor to our parish was attending a funeral at St. Ita’s church and saw the Food Pantry’s wish list on our bulletin board. She bought some of the items and dropped them off with Br. Ayub at the Food Pantry last week. We thank God for this continued generosity from our neighbors which supports this vital ministry.
If you would like to support the food pantry, click here to find the wish list or to sign up to volunteer. We want to give a shout out to parish volunteer Kara Chmielewski who constructed, by herself, new produce shelves for the Food Pantry. 🧅 Kara is a dedicated volunteer of our parish Food Pantry located at St. Thomas of Canterbury church. She is also an accomplished runner, having completed at 50K race last fall! 🏃♀️ Thank you, Kara for all that you have done and continue to do to support this vital ministry. The good work of the Food Pantry is only possible because of community members like you.
On Thursday April 3, six shopping carts were delivered to St. Thomas of Canterbury Food Pantry. The purchase of these shopping carts was made possible by the donation from St. Francis Xavier School in Wilmette, IL. The carts will help reduce the shopping delays at the food pantry as clients navigate the shelves of pantry goods and produce.
On behalf of all our volunteers and the guests at the food pantry, thank you so much to everyone who made this possible!
Thank you to Vocation Director Br. Bernard Mary, OFM Conv. for bringing a vocation guest to help distribute toys and school supplies to the families at our Food Pantry. We appreciate all your help! |
