Give to those in need this Christmas 

People need your help. They need the basics: food, clothing, and household items. Without your help, many children will go without Christmas gifts this year. Can you make room in your life for our neighbors in need? If you can help, support our diocesan-sponsored organizations or your parish and community ministries. If you need help, please give them a call.

Catholic Social Services (CSS)

197 E. Gay St., Columbus OH 43215. Phone (614) 221-5891. Website www.colscss.org.
Catholic Social Services serves the poor and vulnerable through strengthening families, guides individuals toward economic stability, provides food and emergency assistance, counseling, case management, and affordable housing solutions, and gives support to domestic violence survivors.

CSS St. Francis Center

2311 Stockham Lane, Portsmouth OH 45662. Phone (740) 353-3185.  Attention: Barbara McKenzie 

The Portsmouth area has been hit especially hard by the economic decline and opioid epidemic. Because of the community’s desperate need, the St. Francis Center fills a vital role. You can help it serve the many families it sees each Christmas by providing new sleeping bags (unwrapped) and Walmart gift cards (any amount) to the center.

Use the center’s Amazon wish list to have your unwrapped donation delivered directly to the center. To order, visit www.amazon.com/registry/search and search “St. Francis Center.”
Drop off gift cards to Catholic Social Services, in care of Julie Naporano, 197 E. Gay St., second floor, Columbus OH 43215.

Mail donations to St. Francis Center, in care of Barbara McKenzie, 2311 Stockham Lane, Portsmouth OH 45662.

The center is expecting as many as 1,000 children (infants to age 17) who need your help this holiday season.

JOIN 
(Joint Organization for Inner-City Needs) 

578 E. Main St., Columbus OH 43215. Phone: (614) 241-2530. Website:www.columbuscatholic.org/join. 

JOIN responds to people in need with emergency material assistance, serving nearly 100 families each day with almost every problem imaginable, from birth to death. 
Needed items: Gas gift cards, food gift cards, gift cards for teenagers (from department stores such as Target and Meijer, bookstores, or stores selling music, games, and movies), basic hygiene items, cleaning supplies, and monetary donations.

St. Francis Center

108 W. Mill St., McArthur OH  45651. Phone: (740) 596-5820. Website: www.facebook.com/StFrancisOutreachCenter.

The center serves as a Catholic presence in the southeastern part of the Diocese of Columbus, assisting impoverished families in meeting their most basic needs of food and clothing. 

Needed items: Food pantry staples, new toys, clothing, gift cards for teenagers (from department stores such as Target and Meijer, bookstores, or stores selling music, games, and movies) and monetary donations. Volunteers are needed to help pack food and toys on Sunday and Monday, Dec. 11 and 12. For details, email ariegel@columbuscatholic.org or call (740) 596-5820.

St. Stephen’s Community House

1500 E. 17th Ave., Columbus OH 43219. Phone: (614) 294-6347. Website: www.saintstephensch.org. 

Serving since 1919, St. Stephen’s Community House is committed to brightening lives in the Linden neighborhood of Columbus and the Central Ohio Labor Council, AFL-CIO are collaborating to brighten the holiday season for individuals and families who find themselves in a critical position because of  situations such as stretched incomes, job layoffs, foreclosures and family illness. We are all familiar with families in financial turmoil who cannot afford to purchase traditional holiday food items. In an effort to minimize some of the hardship felt by families, support is being requested from area schools, churches and businesses. You, your business or organization can become a partner in this effort by collecting non-perishable food items (canned, boxed, bottled or dried goods), or providing financial support to purchase perishable items such as turkeys, bread, milk, fresh fruit and vegetables.

Needed items: Nonperishable food pantry items such as boxed hot or cold cereal, canned beans, tuna, canned meats, dry milk, vegetable oil, rice, pasta, peanut butter, etc.  For a complete list, visit St. Stephen’s website at www.saintstephensch.org.  Gift cards from Kroger, Meijer or Giant Eagle, and monetary donations are always welcome.  Deliver donations by Sunday, Dec. 11.  For details, contact Amy Kerns at (614) 294-6347, extension 136.

St. Vincent Family Center

1490 E. Main St., Columbus OH 43205. Phone:  (614) 252-0731. Website: www.svfc.org. 
The St. Vincent Family Center serves thousands of children and families living in the most impoverished neighborhoods in central Ohio.  Each Christmas season, many of these families are unable to provide their little ones with gifts and memories that make this time of year so special.  

Adopt A Family:  Provides holiday gifts to families served by St. Vincent’s.  Your presents may be the only gifts they receive.  

Specify your preference of family size and you’ll be appropriately matched with a family in need.  Each family will provide a wish list of items that their child(ren) may need or want, then you can shop for their gifts.

Gifts will be collected at the center from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday, Dec. 5 and 6 and Saturday, Dec. 8.  Volunteers age 18 and older are greatly appreciated. Contact Debra Huff at (614) 252-0731, extension 1132 or dhuff@svfc.org.  

Society of St. Vincent de Paul

197 E. Gay St., Columbus OH 43215. Phone: (614) 221-3554. Website: www.vincentianvoice.org. 

The Society of St. Vincent de Paul provides food, clothing, housing, and spiritual support to people in need. It operates in parishes across the diocese, many of them with food pantries, and sponsors a daily lunch line at St. Lawrence Haven in Columbus, a clothing center in Columbus, a shelter and transitional housing in Newark, thrift stores in Lancaster, Newark and Marion, and many other ministries. 

Needed items: Food, clothing (especially men’s hats, gloves, socks, underwear, and coats for adults and children) and new, unwrapped gifts, wrapping paper, bows and volunteers for the St. Vincent de Paul Clothing Center’s Christmas store at 578 E. Main St., Columbus. Volunteers are needed at St. Lawrence Haven during preparation times (10 a.m. to noon). Monetary donations for your parish St. Vincent de Paul conference are always appreciated.  
Catholic Charities Christmas Collection

This annual collection allows the diocese to meet a variety of basic needs directly and through diocesan agencies and organizations, including those listed here. You can help share in this important work by generously supporting the Catholic Charities collection this year.  Look for the envelope in your parish envelope packet for December.

Diocesan Office for Social Concerns

197 E. Gay St., Columbus  OH 43215. Phone: (614) 241-2540. Email address: socmailbox@columbuscatholic.org. Website: www.columbuscatholic.org/social-concerns-office.

The Office for Social Concerns serves as the central diocesan resource for Catholic social teaching, reaching out through prayer, service, social justice education, and advocacy.  Learn more about church teachings on social issues. Put your faith in action to make a difference in your community and around the world.   

Catholic Relief Services CRS Ethical/Fair Trade (Home Decor, Coffee, Chocolate, Candy, Jewelry, Apparel, Crafts, Eco-Friendly Gifts)

Catholic Relief Services is the official international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States. When you shop with CRS, you are supporting companies that uphold the highest standards of ethical and fair trade. By supporting CRS Ethical/Fair Trade programs (such as the Work of Human Hands), you help bring fair prices, safer working conditions and environmentally sustainable practices to poor and disadvantaged artists and farmers in the United States and around the world (http://ethicaltrade.crs.org).

CRS Gift Catalog

CRS offers a gift catalog which includes nearly 1,500 projects that support long-term transformations of people and communities here and overseas. Your purchases support human dignity and save lives (https://gifts.crs.org).