Christmas Giving Trees: A way to give to others this Advent season

By Bill Doyle | CFP Correspondent

WORCESTER - When Deacon Walter F. Doyle attended a party at Leo’s Ristorante about 10 years ago, a woman told him that she recognized him.
“You’re Santa Claus,” she said.
Then the woman called over her son and told him, “This is the guy that gave you all the Christmas presents when you were a little kid.”
Deacon Doyle and his wife, Kathy, founded the Urban Missionaries of Our Lady of Hope Center at 242 Canterbury St. in 1979 and since 1983 they have overseen the Christmas Giving Program there.
This year, the Christmas Giving Program expects to distribute about 6,000 Christmas gifts to children up to age 14 belonging to families in need.
Why does Deacon Doyle do all this?
“Jesus told me to,” he said.
He’s 82 years old, but he said helping those in need keeps him young.
“I think the whole ministry keeps me going,” he said. “It’s just great. I’m the happiest guy in the world. I tell everybody that I’m the most blessed person in the world. I’ve got all these great people around me that are really helpful and it’s just great. That’s what keeps me going. Why would I stop?”
The Christmas Giving Program began when Urban Missionaries asked for help to buy Christmas gifts for a Vietnamese family it was sponsoring. Jerri Colonero, a parishioner at St. Rose of Lima in Northborough, told the Doyles about the Giving Tree Program her parish in New Jersey had.
“I jumped on it,” Deacon Doyle said. “I called every parish in the diocese.”
A total of 108 parishes signed up to help in 1983. That number is down to 38 parishes this year, in part because some parishes have merged, and Deacon Doyle said others decided to concentrate on helping people in their own parishes.
Deacon Doyle prints out the information on the tags and Urban Missionaries delivers them to the parishes, which display them beginning the first weekend of Advent, which is Nov. 29-30 this year.
Each tag lists the first name, sex and age of the child and the gift requested along with the shirt or coat size. Some tags list only an “age appropriate gift” instead of a specific gift.
Parishioners select the tags, purchase the requested gifts and need to return them to the churches by the third Sunday in Advent, which is Dec. 14 this year. Urban Missionaries collect the gifts in trucks and the recipients pick them up at the Urban Missionaries LittleStore, a thrift shop that sells furniture, clothing and food at a discount. The store services about 100 people in need each weekday and about 140 on Saturdays.
Deacon Doyle said he knows of families with several children who have received gifts for up to 20 years.
A woman who recently interviewed for a job at Urban Missionaries informed Deacon Doyle that she used to pick up Christmas gifts at Urban Missionaries for her family. Now she wants to help others.
Gifts range from toys to headphones to winter jackets. For safety reasons, gifts are no longer wrapped by donors. So the recipients wrap them.
Deacon Doyle doesn’t like to turn down anyone in need. Last year families registered 28 children on the late date of Dec. 23 and they all received gifts.
Parishes account for 60-65 percent of the Christmas gifts that Urban Missionaries distribute.
Parishioners can select a gift tag at their churches or visit urbanmissionaries.com to obtain a virtual gift tag or make a GoFundMe donation for a gift via the website.
Some people donate on their own. One woman recently bought 30 gifts from her office.
The LittleStore has a Christmas tree with gift tags and Deacon Doyle is especially touched when people in need who shop at the store take a tag for someone else and return with a gift.
“They’re the ones that need the help and they’re taking tags,” he said. “To me, it’s amazing. It speaks volumes.”
About 200 volunteers help Urban Missionaries with the Giving Tree program, taking names of families who need gifts and bagging the gifts. Some volunteers purchase gifts and somehow persuade stores to give Urban Missionaries steep discounts.
St. Rose of Lima Parish in Northborough takes care of 500 Christmas tree tags, the most in the diocese. St. Joseph Parish handles 250 and Christ the King Parish 175.
The parishioners don’t meet the people who receive the gifts because it’s anonymous.
“I think there’s a general joy of giving,” said Msgr. Thomas J. Sullivan, pastor at Christ the King, “knowing that there are so many hurting people out there and have needs.”
Msgr. Sullivan remembers the sanctuary being filled with presents when he took part in the Giving Tree program for the first time in 1984 while he was an associate pastor at St. Luke the Evangelist Parish in Westborough.
Christ the King parishioners also purchase another 25 or so gifts, mostly gift cards, for diocesan seminarians.
Father Donato Infante, director of the Office for Vocations, said his office mails gift tags to participating parishes in the diocese. Father Infante estimated that each of the 13 seminarians from the diocese receives 30-40 gifts.
“I think it’s absolutely wonderful how generous people are,” Father Infante said, “and it serves a great need. Some of our seminarians come from families of means and some don’t. It really is necessary to help them in this way.”
Gift tags for the seminarians list the seminarian’s name and requests gift cards for such items as textbooks, automobile gas, and toiletries. Gift givers are asked to mail their gifts to the seminarians in attached envelopes addressed to seminarians at the vocation office at Our Lady of Providence Parish, 236 Lincoln St., Worcester, MA, 01605.
“They are very appreciative,” Father Infante said. “This is what helps them get through the year, paying for these supplies that they need during seminary.”
Father Infante said he knows of seminarians who, after being ordained as priests, have been assigned to parishes that didn’t take part in the gift tag program for seminarians. So they’ve started the program in those parishes for other seminarians.
Rod Pfannenstiel joined Urban Missionaries as executive director on Sept. 1. He replaced Charley O’Neill, who served as general manager the previous two years.
Mr. Pfannenstiel previously worked in executive sales throughout the country for Microsoft. He lives in Northborough and is a parishioner at St. Rose of Lima. He met Deacon Doyle many years ago when he brought Boys Scouts to Urban Missionaries to volunteer for the Christmas program. He has chaired the Boys Scouts Troop committee at St. Rose of Lima for the past 22 years.
Mr. Pfannenestiel has taken part in the Giving Tree program at St. Rose of Lima’s for many years and he appreciates that this one provides three gifts per child and allows the children to ask what they want.
Our Lady of Hope Parish in Grafton has 377 gift tags at its churches, St. Mary and St. James, to support not only Urban Missionaries and seminarians, but Visitation House, Pernet Family Health Service, Crescent Manor Rest Home and the parish’s St. Vincent de Paul and outreach ministries.