ChristmasBaskets

Academy Families Donate Baskets of Food

In what has become a beloved tradition at Sacred Heart, before beginning their Christmas break on December 19, students and their families donated and delivered 365 baskets of food to charitable agencies and food pantries.

For more than 35 years, this Academy tradition has been a favorite among the school’s families, although its beginning can be traced to the early 1800s, when Philippine Duchesne asked for a basket of food for a poor family. Today, in that same spirit of giving, each Sacred Heart family is encouraged to put together a box or basket of food complete with ingredients for a holiday meal. Typically, the baskets are filled to overflowing, and include a turkey or ham. Parent and faculty volunteers delivered the baskets to Catholic parishes and charitable agencies, who will distribute them to needy families. The majority of baskets stay in St. Charles County, with a few going to St. Louis inner city parishes.

“The Christmas Basket Mass is a beautiful way to bring our community together before the holiday and, at the same time, a wonderful way for Academy families to give generously and joyously to the poor,” explains faculty member Marleen Monahan, who coordinates the basket project with Sr. Mary Loretta Busch, RSCJ. “Many of our families look forward to the opportunity to work together assembling the contents of the basket, so it not only becomes a family project, but also an exercise in social responsibility, teaching us that those who have need to share with those who don’t,” she concludes.

A number of school alumni and past parents return each year to participate in this special tradition, as well.