Chicagoland

Parishes, deacon group rally to ship supplies to hurricane victims

By Joyce Duriga | Editor
Thursday, October 17, 2024

Parishes, deacon group rally to ship supplies to hurricane victims

People affiliated with Godsend youth ministry, which includes St. Elizabeth Seton Parish in Orland Hills and St. George and St. Stephen Deacon and Martyr parishes in Tinley Park, deliver boxes of diapers, packages of baby wipes and cases of water for the victims of Hurricane Helene in North Carolina at St. Mary Monastery in Lemont on Oct. 13, 2024. The donations would go with a shipment of cleaning supplies organized by Buckets of Hope, a ministry led by archdiocesan deacons. (Julie Jaidinger/Chicago Catholic)
Johann Laran and Tina Clancy unload supplies. People affiliated with Godsend youth ministry, which includes St. Elizabeth Seton Parish in Orland Hills and St. George and St. Stephen Deacon and Martyr parishes in Tinley Park, deliver boxes of diapers, packages of baby wipes and cases of water for the victims of Hurricane Helene in North Carolina at St. Mary Monastery in Lemont on Oct. 13, 2024. The donations would go with a shipment of cleaning supplies organized by Buckets of Hope, a ministry led by archdiocesan deacons. (Julie Jaidinger/Chicago Catholic)
Jozef Laran carries baby wipes. (Julie Jaidinger/Chicago Catholic)
Father Kevin McCray, pastor of St. Elizabeth Seton Parish in Orland Hills, carries baby wipes. (Julie Jaidinger/Chicago Catholic)
Olivia Carmody unloads diapers. (Julie Jaidinger/Chicago Catholic)
Kathy Wills unloads diapers to the garage. (Julie Jaidinger/Chicago Catholic)
Deacon John Sobel, youth ministry to Godsend, addresses volunteers at the end of the delivery. (Julie Jaidinger/Chicago Catholic)

On the breezy afternoon of Oct. 13, a caravan of about a dozen cars pulled up to the garages at St. Mary Monastery in Lemont and volunteers piled out and dropped off boxes of diapers, packages of baby wipes and cases of water for the victims of Hurricane Helene in North Carolina.

The donations came from Godsend youth ministry, which includes St. Elizabeth Seton Parish in Orland Hills and St. George and St. Stephen Deacon and Martyr parishes in Tinley Park. They  would be included in a shipment of 450 buckets filled with cleaning supplies provided by Buckets of Hope, an outreach effort of the deacon-led ministry Hope’s on the Way.

The collection came together quickly, said Deacon John Sobol, the group’s youth minister.

When the youth group met Oct. 8, members told Sobol they wanted to do something to help victims of Hurricane Helene, he said. Just after the meeting, Sobol received a text message from Deacon Larry Oskielunas, president of Hope’s on the Way, letting him know the deacons were sending a shipment of buckets to Catholic Charities in Charlotte, North Carolina, the following week. Oskielunas asked Sobol if the youth group had anything they wanted to include in the shipment, as the member parishes regularly hold campaigns to fill buckets for Buckets of Hope.

Hope’s on the Way began after Hurricane Katrina, when a group of deacons organized 11 mission trips to Louisiana, where they rebuilt a school, a monastery and homes in the New Orleans area. The group started its “Buckets of Hope” ministry after learning about similar ministries run by other Christian faith communities.

Sobol said the parishes took to social media to get the word out about the collection that would take place during weekened Masses. The parish groups donated $2,500 worth of items. Both the drivers and all of the items packed into their cars were blessed before they left the parishes.

“It really was a testament to our youth ministry and our youth, who really are thinking about others and they want to serve,” he said.

Melissa Mangan from St. Stephen Deacon and Martyr Parish said she felt blessed to be a part of collecting and delivering the supplies.

“It just blossomed into the whole community,” she said. “It’s just wonderful, especially to see the spirit of these young kids who really want to give back.”

Giving back comes down to gratitude, she said.

“We realize how much we have and how much we’re blessed with and how quickly that literally can be washed away,” Mangan said. “It’s important to reach out and serve whoever our neighbor may be. It might not be next door. It might be several states away.”

Johann Laran, 18, is a member of Godsend from St. Elizabeth Seton Parish and she was one of the drivers in the caravan.

“It is important to me to do this because I wouldn’t want to be in that same situation where I don’t have a home to sleep in or healthy food to eat, water. Or if I had a baby I wouldn’t want them to have dirty diapers,” Laran said.

“We are helping others in need just like Jesus helped others in need,” said Ray Guerra, 17, also a member of Godsend.

Oskielunas said he was grateful for the extra donations from the parishes.

“Over the course of our ministry, we have delivered almost 8,000 buckets of hope to various locations that have been either stricken by flooding, storms, hurricanes or tornadoes,” Oskielunas said.

The group works with parishes and groups to hold campaigns to fill buckets throughout the year. Hope’s on the Way provides the 5-gallon buckets, which people fill with 14 cleaning items, including dish soap, clothes pins and a clothesline and a pair of work gloves.

Donations have to be specific to the list because some items, such as bleach,  are considered hazardous materials and cannot be shipped, Oskielunas explained.

The ministry partners with organizations such as Catholic Charities, local disaster coordinators, the International Union of Operating Engineers and various moving companies to move filled buckets to places of need.

Hope’s on the Way is planning to fill more buckets and ship them to areas impacted by Hurricane Milton. They also are accepting monetary donations to purchase supplies to fill the buckets.

“We survive by the generosity of the parishes that do bucket campaigns,” he said. “We’re always looking for new parishes to do this with.”

For more information, visit hopesontheway.net.

 

Topics:

  • deacons
  • hurricane

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