St. Alphonsus Organizes Christmas Donation to Mission Serving Rural Appalachia

Santa has some serious competition in Wexford. 

For the 12th year in a row, St. Alphonsus Catholic Church Parishioners, school families and CCD students supported the Christmas donation to the St. Vincent Mission in David, KY.   

St. Vincent Mission is a nonprofit organization serving people in rural Appalachia. 

Since the annual tradition began, more than $51,000 of toys, clothing, household goods and cash has been donated and then driven to Kentucky by St. Alphonsus volunteers to support the Mission’s Christmas store, food pantry and emergency assistance fund.   

The parish-wide project began in November under the direction of parishioner Barbara Griffith. She and her elves prepared gift tags listing men, women and children’s gift ideas and placed them in baskets at the foot of the church altar. Everyone is encouraged to choose a card and buy a gift for the Mission.

Volunteers packed boxes donated by South Hills Movers into a new white truck provided by Shults Ford for the six hour road trip. Five eighth grade boys from St. Alphonsus school (pictured above) loaded the truck with the boxes and wishes for a blessed Christmas.

In addition to the gifts donated by church members, St. Alphonsus elementary school students raised $409 for the Mission by donating $1 each to “dress down” or wear non-uniform clothes to school on December 9. Students enrolled in the religious education program (CCD) at St. Alphonsus church donated toys and books for the Mission.

“It is such a fantastic program because it involves the entire school and parish community,” Griffith said. She has been managing the program for more than 10 years.     

According to Sister Kathleen Weigand, OSB of the St. Vincent Mission, the relationship with St. Alphonsus began in 1999 when her late sister, Joan Muchow, was talking about the Mission to a friend in Pittsburgh who was a parishioner at St. Alphonsus.  

That friend appealed to St. Alphonsus Pastor Father Peter Murphy about starting a collection for the Mission’s Christmas store and the rest is history. 

"Your generous donations will help make it possible to provide gifts and Christmas dinner to many who might have little or nothing otherwise for celebrating Christ's birth," Sister Kathleen said in thanks to St. Alphonsus. 

- Submitted by Jill Taylor, on behalf of St. Alphonsus. Have news you'd like to share with Patch readers? Email information and photos to at amyjo.brown@patch.com.

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