The spirit of Easter visited St. John of the Cross Parish in Western Springs a little early when on March 14 teens in the parish youth ministry program assembled Easter baskets to be delivered to children in underserved communities.

It’s a program parish youth have participated in for at least 15 years. Last year’s event was canceled because of COVID-19. This year, organizers adjusted to allow for social distancing.

For many years, the parish has delivered the baskets to Off The Street Club for boys and girls in West Garfield Park. This year, baskets will also go to kids at the two sharing parishes — St. Gall in the city’s Gage Park neighborhood and St. Blase in Summit — along with Precious Blood Ministry of Reconciliation in Back of the Yards.

Parishioners and the teens donated items including candy, coloring books and crayons and child-sized face masks. Each teenager made a card on construction paper to go in the baskets.

All 360 baskets were wrapped in cellophane.

In years past, the teens would all come at once and assemble the baskets together. This year, because of COVID-19 protocols, participants arrived in half-hour increments and sat apart to maintain social distancing. Volunteers cleaned the rooms between visits. Everyone had their temperature taken upon entering the building and sanitized their hands.

“This is not the normal way we do it,” said Katie Pruitt, youth minister. “But this is the way we can do it so that I can make sure the kids that want to can come. It’s just being creative.”

Participants were eighth graders through seniors in high school.

“I think especially during COVID, they are looking for things to do to help and get out of themselves,” Pruitt said. “We just try to give them opportunities to share their service because a lot of them are looking for it.”

Service is key to the youth ministry program, Pruitt said, so the young people know they are the hands and feet of Christ.

“It is really living that out, not just doing something nice,” she said. “It makes it more concrete for them.”

Melissa Blouin and Molly Finn, both sophomores in high school, helped organize the event and instructed the other teens about how to assemble the baskets, as well as refreshing the participants’ supplies of toys, crayons and other gifts.

“It was a lot of fun,” Finn said. “We got to know the parishes who are receiving all of these baskets, which is really cool because now we know where they are all going. It’s fun to see what all these kids are going to be getting.”

“I think it’s a really nice opportunity for the kids who are making the baskets to also learn more about the parishes like we were able to do and to be able to help different communities,” Blouin said. “Sorting the items for the baskets was fun to see how generous everyone in the parish was.”

Freshman Brendan Whelton helped assemble baskets.

“I wanted to come out because it’s Easter and I wanted to help people in need to have a gift and to help them through hard times,” Whelton said. “It’s a good thing, because I just want to help people in need because they need this to lighten their day.”

In his notes, he wished the recipients “Happy Easter,” and said “God bless you” and “Keep your head up.”

“You want to make someone’s day,” Whelton said. “It’s just good to be out here. It also makes you feel good to do this too because you know someone’s going to be happy.”