‘Boxes of Joy’

BOXES OF JOY  Kayla, Kelly, Anna, and other students from Mary Help of Christians Academy in North Haledon happily prepare Boxes of Joy as part of a school-wide service project Dec. 1.

NORTH HALEDON  Students at Mary Help of Christians Academy here packed “Boxes of Joy” in honor of friend and benefactor of the Sisters, Rodger Rohde. Every November the academy hosts a service day in his honor and this year found them preparing shoe-box-sized containers of Christmas gifts for children in need. Students brought in small Christmas gifts and school supplies, packing them individually for children in Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, and Nicaragua. A hand-drawn Christmas card with a personal message completed each box before it was packed into shipping cartons.

The students prepared 293 “Boxes of Joy,” and raised money to help cover the shipping cost of $9 per box.

“Being able to share with our students the story of Boxes of Joy is always a wonderful experience,” said Salesian Sister Brittany Harrison, campus minister and chair of the Theology Department. “The students get very excited about preparing their boxes for ‘their’ child who will receive it, and put a lot of effort into selecting just the right items and creating a Christmas card for them. We do this as an entire school during an assembly, complete with Christmas music and videos produced by Cross Catholic. It’s a life changing experience and Mary Help of Christians Academy is proud to be a drop-off site.”

[Information: www.maryhelp.org or www.crosscatholic.org/howtosendjoy or (800) 914-2420.]