Three Christmas wreaths may seem a little out of place in the middle of summer, but those wreaths filled with stars in Boscov's Department Store at the Fairlane Village mall are signs of hope for those in need.
Boscov's and the Pottsville office of Catholic Charities of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Allentown have teamed up for a special charitable project called Christmas in July to assist county residents who need help with the basics of life during these hard economic times. The timing of the project is important to help families and individuals in summer when the challenge of making ends meet can substantially increase.
Christmas in July began Tuesday and ends Aug. 3. The three large wreaths were placed last Friday near the stairs and elevator at the furniture department. Each wreath is filled with colorful paper stars.
"The stars have an item on the back that can be purchased," David Dagon, county administrator for Catholic Charities office in Pottsville, which serves Schuylkill and Carbon counties, said.
A person chooses a star, purchases the item and brings it to the store's courtesy desk. The item can be purchased at any store, not just Boscov's.
Dagon said there are items for very young children to adults, including gift cards, that can be purchased. There are more than 300 stars to start the initiative.
In addition to the stars, people may purchase at the checkouts a "pin-up" for $1 to help support Catholic Charities. Every dollar raised goes directly to Catholic Charities's food pantry, which is open to anyone during regular office hours.
Boscov's is also holding a food drive for Catholic Charities' food pantry, which is in need of canned and nonperishable foods, particularly canned tuna, fruit and vegetables. Donations may be dropped into the barrel at the elevator on the first level.
The program began in Schuylkill County in 2011 and mirrored the first drive held in 2010 in three Boscov's stores located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Scranton, according to Irene Kelly, public relations regional manager for Boscov's stores in Pottsville, Hazleton, Wilkes-Barre and Scranton.
"This is really great," Kelly said as she watched store trimmer Jimmy Harnett and employees decorate the wreaths with the stars.
Prior to the store opening on Friday, employees gathered in the furniture department near the wreaths for a short meeting with Assistant Store Manager Sandy Ferrari before Kelly and Dagon spoke.
"This is a really important fundraiser that we're doing," Kelly said to the employees. "We're doing the wreaths, which have items basically for children, which is the need in this area. We're also doing the food drive in all of my four stores. We're asking every co-worker to bring in one can of food a week, Dave would be thrilled. Just think of that: 150 cans a week for five weeks. One man in Scranton said he would bring in one case of cans a week. That is fabulous. The money raised through the pin-ups stays here in this area for the need itself."
Dagon said Catholic Charities serves the people of the community.
"We're a social service agency, so we serve any member of the community who could use our services," Dagon said.
Dagon said someone who comes to the pantry for food will also have the chance to learn of other services available to them.
"Our real role is trying to make a connection to the person and give them that sense of hope and confidence and accomplishment," Dagon said. "If we didn't have that food pantry, that person may not have come to us. Another one of our roles is to hook people up with other community agencies and services."
Dagon added, "We're always grateful for the help and support we get from the community, including partners like Boscov's. We couldn't do what we do without your support."
Dagon said the food pantry needs much help during the summer due to the demand.
"What happens with the food pantry during the summer months is that the requests and the need for help goes up," he said. "The children are home from school in the summer, so there are no school lunches or supplemental help, so the families have to provide the food all the time, so we get more and more requests. On occasion, our food pantry has become depleted, and then we have to defer to other food pantries."
Catholic Charities provides adoption services, pregnancy support and parenting education, community support services (case management, food pantry, assistance with information and referrals), counseling and behavioral health, services for older adults (a program that provides case management and counseling for older adults who can remain in their own homes) and an adult day care center in Orwigsburg.
Services are open to any person residing in Schuylkill County and the other four counties in the Diocese of Allentown regardless of race, ethnic origin, religion, gender, age, color, political affiliation, creed, disability and limited English proficiency.
The Catholic Charities office is located at 13 Westwood Center, Pottsville. For more information, call 570-628-0466.