On Monday, Dec. 10, the student council from Resurrection Catholic School in Cherry Hill traveled to Sacred Heart Church in Camden to help set up the Toy Store there.
Toy donations were requested from school families and the Elementary Faith Formation families at the Catholic Community of Christ Our Light, the school’s host parish.
The eight student council members, Amanda Atkinson, Anastasia Calzaretto, Danny Hullihan, Alessandra Kinney-Ferraro, William Lewis, Mary Marino, Logan Suarez Parmer, and Rowan Suarez Parmer, helped load the toys into waiting cars and mini-vans first thing that morning.
They spent the day, with adult volunteers from Sacred Heart and Resurrection, sorting and organizing the different toys and transforming the church basement into a temporary Toy Store where the parents who are served by Sacred Heart could shop for gifts for their children.
The students were lucky enough to meet Msgr. Michael Doyle, Pastor at Sacred Heart, who gave them a tour of the 125-year-old church and spoke to them about the renovations being done to the building, the neighborhood, and the poverty that exists there.
He stressed how each “little bit” they do makes a difference, especially to the children of Camden. The students’ tour was topped off with a chance to ring the church bell.
