The Center for Community Service and Justice and the Sophomore class partner each holiday season to spread cheer among approximately 1,000 members of the Baltimore community. Sponsors donate gifts and/or funds to individuals at community partner agencies where Loyola volunteers have served during the year. Weaving Presence for Christmas with another time-honored Loyola tradition, campus sponsors present their gifts at the Festival of Lessons and Carols, a service of choral Christmas music and sacred readings in the Alumni Memorial Chapel.
In December of 2012, 35 campus departments and organizations, numerous financial contributors, and countless individuals donated approximately 1,525 gifts to Presence for Christmas, which brightened the holidays for over 1,100 under-resourced members of our Loyola and Baltimore communities. These gifts equaled more than $38,000 in donations, but as the warmth between volunteers and recipients shows, their value is impossible to estimate.Thank you to all of those who made this outpouring of generosity possible!
4 Ways to Participate:
Sponsor a child
Campus sponsors provide gifts for about 300-400 individual children around the Baltimore area. You may register online (below) or visit one of the Presence for Christmas tables located on campus during the Fall semester (dates listed below). Deadline to register is November 16, 2012. Once you register to sponsor, you will recieve guidelines and suggestions for selecting a gift for your child. Read more about gift suggestions provided by some community agencies, and click to read more about each of the community agencies from which we're sponsoring children this year:
Campus sponsors agree to purchase three small gifts and a set of basic cleaning supplies for an individual affiliated with the Home Connections program through St. Vincent dePaul Society of Baltimore. This is a great opportunity for departments, clubs, teams, residence hall floors, and other groups to join together in the spirit of Christmas. You may register online; deadline to register is November 16, 2012. After registering, you will recieve specifications and suggestions for gift selection.
Sponsor a classroom
Campus sponsors provide a gift and school supplies for each child in a HeadStart classroom through St. Vincent dePaul Society of Baltimore. This is another opportunity for groups of campus donors -- teams, roommate groups, departments, etc. You may register online; deadline to register is November 16, 2012. After registering, you will recieve specifications for school supplies and suggestions for gift selection.
Sponsor a superstore
Superstore sponsors provide unwrapped toys and children's clothing in bulk. Community partner agencies like the Caroline Center allow clients and families to “purchase” the gifts with vouchers they have earned through volunteering their time at that agency throughout the year. Superstore sponsorship is a great opportunity for larger groups. Sponsorship groups are typically asked to purchase 50-60 unwrapped gifts for the program. Deadline to register (below) is November 16, 2012.
Sponsor a child
