YES, WE HAVE HEARD FROM SANTA CLAUS.......

........AND HE IS VERY EXCITED BY PEOPLE'S RESPONSE SO FAR!

Speaking of being excited, this is a picture of me around four or five years old. I remember that Christmas very well. In the country, we did not have much in those days, but I remember waking up on Christmas day so excited that I was actually shaking terribly. I don't remember what I got that year, but I am sure it was one small toy with some candy and fruit. Back then, candy was rare during the year except for Christmas and Easter.

The thing I remember most about that Christmas is that even a small toy and some candy, when you didn't have a lot, could bring an amazing amount of excitement and appreciation. 

My hope is to be able to help bring about a bit of that excitement and appreciation to some of the children down in the Caribbean missions.  

 A few of the twenty-four children at Saint Benedict's Home for Children, Sisters Nyra Anne and Carmen, myself and one of the care-takers. 

THIS YEAR'S PLAN

 

In talking to Sister Nyra Anne, it seems there are greater needs than toys. She is trying to open up a second housing unit to separate the boys from the girls. She needs help furnishing it. 

We would like to thank those who have so far sent gifts for Christmas. Below is a photo of the newly constructed  bunkbeds and mattress covers for Unit Two (boys) awaiting other furnishings that have not so far been sponsored. 

I promised Sister Nyra Anne to help with that, but I thought we still needed to have something under the tree for each child. This is what we agreed to do. 

This year we will give each child $25.00 USD. Out of that, each child will make a donation to the parish Christmas collection where they go to church. (I like to add a teaching element to everything we do down there.) We want to teach them to be givers, not just takers. Out of what's left, they will go shopping for their own Christmas present in Kingstown and have lunch at the Kentucky Fried Chicken. Sister will teach them something about Kentucky and where their gifts came from in the USA. (I have provided a world map, a United States map and a Kentucky map along with some pictures of famous Kentuckians and places.)  (Again, I like to add a teaching element to everything we do down there.) If they have any change left over, it will go into their personal savings accounts that we are setting up for each child. I believe that the knowledge each child will have that they actually have a little growing "nest egg" will have a profound affect on their self-esteem and morale.  

The savings accounts are a new idea, but a very important one. In the past, when and if it was time to leave the Home they had nothing to begin a new life outside.  We will continue to put small amounts into their savings accounts as we go along. 

If you would like to help, here is the answer. You still have time. 

MAKE CHECKS PAYABLE TO:

Saint Bartholomew Church-SVG Mission Fund 

SEND THOSE CHECKS TO:

Father Ronald Knott

1271 Parkway Gardens Court #106

Louisville, KY 40217

FOR QUESTIONS, CALL FATHER KNOTT AT:

502-303-4571