As hundreds of volunteers gathered in the Terry Center, doused in the light shining in from the stained glass windows, a gentle warmth showered the entirety of the assembly room, a warmth symbolic of the love and compassion present in the annual Adopt-a-Family event.
On December 14, 2014, Jesuit families, students, and alumni joined together before Christmas to service the community. After celebrating Mass together in Hughes Hall with Father Huete, the volunteers congregated in the Terry Center to wrap gifts for families in need. Finally, more Jesuit volunteers drove the wrapped and packaged gifts to their beneficiaries.
Student participant Dominic Iannelli ’15 praised the event as “a great way for the Jesuit community to come together and reach out to those who are less fortunate.”
Months earlier, these Jesuit families had each agreed to sponsor one or more impoverished families, purchasing them gifts so that they could celebrate Christmas. Other gifts were donated by faculty, students, alumni, as well as one anonymous donor.
Beginning the day with the Holy Spirit in mind and heart, the volunteers celebrated Mass together in the gym. Student Tim Bedard ’17 believed that “the Mass really helped me to clear my mind and focus on helping others, which is what Adopt-a-Family is all about.”
Then, alumni, families, and students alike traveled in a flurry in the Terry Center to begin wrapping and packaging gifts before delivery. Volunteers spread throughout the Terry Center to wrap gifts that had been donated over the past month. The communal act of wrapping gifts allowed many families the opportunity to emotionally and spiritually bond before the holiday season. Bedard commented that “it was a great way to get in the Christmas mood.”
Finally, the packaged gifts were delivered to the agencies that serve over 100 local families in need by more Jesuit volunteers, the culminating act in a beautiful Jesuit Christmas tradition.
Next year, be sure to sign up to volunteer at Jesuit’s annual Adopt-a-Family service event to prepare yourself for Christmas and to return to the central Jesuit philosophy of being “Men for Others.”
