Jim Wilson Memorial Christmas Partners

Each year, St. Mary’s parishioners provide Christmas gifts for over 230 local families, and over 900 children in foster care throughout the region!

The Christmas Partners mission was initiated almost 40 years ago by Jim Wilson, a long-time parishioner who is now deceased! It began as a very small operation, helping just a few families by word-of-mouth. Now, it is an internationally-recognized operation that provides a very important work of mercy at a very holy time of year!

In recent years, the Christmas Partners ministry has developed an alliance with the local chapter of the United Way, in order to prevent abuse of people’s generosity and to allow people’s efforts to reach further into the community. To further the mission, Christmas Partners soon will be brought under the charitable arm of West Tennessee Healthcare, to ensure that the mission will continue in perpetuity.

You can help, too!  Year after year, the Christmas Partners organization relies on the generosity of St. Mary’s parishioners (and others who have heard about what we do).  Here’s a list of ways to help.

Volunteers are needed for December 7,8,9 for packing baskets and getting them to the gym of Holy Family Hall.  Volunteers needed also on Saturday, December 10 for distribution.

1. Pray that the Jim Wilson Memorial Christmas Partners mission will succeed and shine the light of Jesus into our community.
2. Pick up an angel from the tree in the parish narthex after ANY WEEKEND MASS on Nov. 19 & Nov. 20, Nov. 26 & Nov. 27 and Dec. 3 & Dec. 4. Volunteers will provide you with all the information you need to adopt a family at that point.
3. Donate a $25 gift card from Dollar Tree (Dollar Tree does not sell alcohol or tobacco), toothbrushes & toothpaste, and/or coupons for free groceries.
4. ALL GIFTS MUST BE DELIVERED TO ST. MARY’S KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS (KOC) HOUSE BY WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 7TH.
   Volunteers to assist with gift organization are needed Monday, Dec. 5 thru’ Fri., Dec. 9 to help fill baskets. Volunteers work for as little as 1 hour at a time, from 8:00am to 5:00pm each day during that week.  Whatever amount of time you can serve is fantastic!
5. Volunteer to assist with gift distribution to local families. The next distribution date is Saturday, December 10, 2022.  Distribution begins at 7:30am, and wraps up about 1:00pm on that day.  Seeing these families and children receive gifts is, perhaps, the most rewarding part of the whole process!  We need lots of volunteers to make this day run smoothly!
6. Make a cash donation.
   Make checks payable to West Tennessee Healthcare Foundation & be sure to write “Christmas Partners” in the memo line.
   Checks can be dropped off to the parish office or sent to
   Knights of Columbus
   P.O. Box 1101
   Jackson, TN 38302-1101

SPONSOR DOWNLOAD:
Click here for comprehensive information and guidance for our 2022 Christmas Partners campaign.

For more information about getting involved with the Jim Wilson Memorial Christmas Partners mission, contact Joyce LaFont at 731.668.5974.