St. Charles Parish has made a commitment to provide two meals a year to Winnipeg’s Immaculate Conception Soup Kitchen. Our next date was coming up on Sunday, February 7. With the Code Red restrictions, we were unable to request donations of Chili from parishioners as we had done in the past or gather to prepare food.
After prayer and discernment, the Executive of the Ladies’ Association decided to purchase Hearty Chicken Stew from the Chicken Chef (3770 Portage Ave). Along with the Chicken Stew we purchased buns, bananas, bottled water and juice boxes. We made a request to St. Charles parishioners for homemade cookies and we received 68 dozen.
The Kotowich Family also prepared and donated 20 Valentine’s gift bags for the children. The bags contained a juice box, one chocolate pudding, one heart sucker, one granola bar, two rice crispy cereal bars and two monster cookies. Maddy said, “When Florence asked me to make cookies for the Immaculate Conception lunch I realized it was close to Valentine’s Day. Kids deserve something special so I asked if I could make some gift bags. With the lockdown I couldn’t get fancy bags so I decorated brown paper bags. Kids love presents”.
One of the soup kitchen volunteers said, “Wow, our coldest Sunday of the year and we had a great warm chicken stew compliments of St. Charles Parish. They also provided nice crusty buns, bananas and dozens of homemade cookies plus water and juice. What a great meal for a cold winter day!”
We were told the volunteers at the soup kitchen made 200 bags of individual servings. They distributed 185 bags at the door with a few people getting an extra bag for a family member at home. One volunteer remarked. “That’s down a little bit but it was cold out there and we were missing a few regulars.” The leftover chicken stew was put in the freezer and will be used at a later date.
The Ladies’ Association wishes to thank our St. Charles parishioners for their prayers, monetary support, the baking, shopping and transporting of the food. We received $940 in donations. “Your generosity was overwhelming! The money remaining after expenses will be put aside for the meal we will provide in September.” (Florence Weber, president)
Thank you to all who helped make the meal so special for those in need during these difficult COVID times.
““For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink….. Lord when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?….. Truly I tell you whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”
Matthew 25:35–40
”