Editor’s Note: The following is the third installment in a
series of articles connecting our readers to the area’s most needy
residents during the holiday season. The Morgan Hill Times will
present the stories Nov. 28 through Dec. 22.
Morgan Hill – When Martha Sanchez thinks about the children who might not have packages to open on Christmas morning without the St. Catherine giving tree, her eyes fill with tears.
After all, members of her own family have benefited from the generosity of those who have donated through the church. Now, however, she helps fellow volunteer Marta Valle locate families needing assistance and determining their needs.
Sanchez said she enjoys delivering the gifts from the tree – which is inside the St. Catherine sanctuary so community members can choose an anonymous recipient, maybe choosing by age or gender or their particular needs.
“Just to see the little kids, it goes to my heart,” she said. “Sometimes they give you a hug, sometimes they are just so happy they don’t know what to say. It’s just such a good feeling to give to them.”
Anna Quinones, director of stewardship and development for St. Catherine Church, said many of the donation recipients want to remain anonymous.
“It’s not pride, exactly, but they don’t want people to think they are lazy,” she said. “Many of these people do work. One thing I always tell people is that you can’t judge them on the reason why they are poor, you can’t judge them.”
Valle said during the 15 years she has been volunteering at St. Catherine, she has seen the faces of many needy people in the community, and though things have changed over the years, there are still people who are grateful for the help of others.
“These people are happy when you reach out to them, the whole year, not just during the holidays, but the Christmas season seems to bring a special feeling to some people,” she said.
Sanchez agrees.
“There are so many children that are happy to have warm blankets, to have shoes,” she said. “It is such a good deed when people donate, it helps them feel good, and it helps the families. There are truly a lot of families in need, and we all appreciate any help and wish blessings for those that do.”
Sanchez’s daughter, Rosie Lopez, said the families that receive the donations are many times church families, but there are other families in the community that Sanchez and Valle locate through their efforts.
“Sometimes they don’t want to be found, even if they need help, because of that feeling, it’s not exactly pride, but they don’t want to feel that they can’t help themselves,” she said.
The families need practical items, Sanchez said, like warm blankets, warm jackets, clothing, grocery cards, as well as toys for the children. The church also collects donations of food; Valle, who said she learned her volunteer habits and generosity from her mother and grandmother, visits Safeway grocery store every morning at 6am to pick up the day-old bread the store must throw out and distributes it to those in need.
For more information about donations, contact Anna Quinones at 779-9950.
Marilyn Dubil covers education and law enforcement for The Times. Reach her at (408) 779-4106 ext. 202 or at md****@*************es.com.
