St. John’s baby clothing drive intertwines faith to service

For two weeks in October, St. John the Baptist sixth-grade students bombed each other’s homerooms with diapers.

It was part of a baby clothing and supply drive for Holy Cross’s St. Martha’s Baby Project and the Pregnancy Resource Center. When students brought in baby clothes, toys and books, they received points. However, if they gave diapers to another room, then points were taken away from that class total.

“It was all part of the fun that they built with doing the community service project,” sixth-grade religion teacher and organizer Maria Moynihan said. “The classes didn’t win anything, but they learned how important it is to provide items to those to those who need them.”

Three years ago, Moynihan teamed up with St. John parish social justice coordinator Judith Puhr, who gathers items for St. Martha’s Baby Project.

“This started 15-20 years ago when some ladies wanted each baby to leave a hospital in first class and loved,” Puhr said. “These donations will help create new layettes for each baby.”

Puhr estimates that about 450 layettes are provided each year through donations.

Through St. John’s drive, more than 7,000 diapers, 6,000 wipes, 1,600 items of clothing, 180 blankets, 100 stuffed animals and 900 other baby items were donated.

Babette Sorge, parent of twins and room mother for Moynihan, and parent Mary Lopez counted items daily.

“Besides new items, people donated things that were in great condition,” Sorge said. “My girls and I hit garage sales and picked up a number of things for the Pregnancy Resource Center.”

These gently used items were donated to the Pregnancy Resource Center Nov. 16, when about 45 sixth-graders toured the center learning about ultrasounds, education given to young mothers and other resources they provide.

Eleven-year-old Vanessa Urcinole is one of those sixth-graders.

“Our class brought in strollers, blankets and baby clothes,” she said. “We were in the lead until we got diapered at the end. It’s all for the young teens who have babies. Many of them get ditched by boyfriends, and they’re on their own and have to pay for it. This way, the Pregnancy Resource Center can provide them with a basket of things they need. It means a lot because we learn as Christians that we all need to help.”

That’s the message Principal Jim Markosian hopes students learn.

“We want to put our faith in action,” he said. “And it reaches beyond our walls. So many kids’ parents step in to help them, from helping with the humane society to this baby project to breast cancer awareness. We have had parents’ colleagues at work donate items, as well as neighbors and others in our community. It’s our faith, service and compassion that tie us together.”