|
Christmas Cheer Foundation |
|
|
|
|
 |
Welcome |
 |
History |
|
|
Volunteering Questions |
|
|
Donations $$$ |
 |
Picture Gallery & Thank You Letters |
|
|
Phil Calabrese receives ST. Vincent DePaul Top Hat Award |
|
|
Volunteer Committee |
 |
Meal request forms |
 |
Villages Served |
|
CONTACTS AND EVENTS |
|
|
|
|
 |
Contact Information |
 |
Calendar of Events |
 |
Where To Go |
|
New Home |
|
|
|
|
 |
Page of Links |
|
|
|
 |
Sitemap |
|
||||
|
|
||||
|
|
History of Christmas Cheer Around 1981, a group of volunteers headed by a doctor named Fitzsimmons, gathered at Good Shepherd Church in Oak Park to organize meals to be delivered to about 150 homebound people on Christmas morning. They wanted to send Christmas cheer by way of a meal to those elderly citizens of Oak Park and River Forest who ordinarily received Meals on Wheels, but did not receive a meal on the holiday. At Good Shepherd, helpers dropped off cooked turkeys and baked goods, while another group of volunteers made mashed potatoes and vegetables. Still other helpers would deliver those meals and greetings on Christmas morning. In 1990 Father Corbo, the pastor of St. Gertrude parish in Franklin Park, asked Phil Calabrese, leader of the Good Shepherd group, if he would organize something at St. Gertrude. For several years, both churches were providing Christmas Cheer to the elderly as well as some needy families. The numbers of recipients continued to grow and in the 90s, when the recipients grew to over 5,000, the volunteer undertaking at Good Shepherd was moved to the Dominican Priory in River Forest. After a number of years, the entire organization relocated to the Priory Campus of Dominican University. St. Gertrude remained a home base for record keeping as well as the storage of food, other goods, and toys. As the family meal database grew, the Christmas Cheer group decided to give toys to the younger children whose families were receiving meals. For the last few years, thousands of children received one or more books along with stuffed animals. Thanks to the community-mindedness and generosity of people and businesses, it happens. | |||
| ||||
|
|
|
|||