'TIS THE SEASON AND KIDS THE REASON FOR PARISH AND COMMUNITY CHRISTMAS GIVE-AWAYS...........

OLOL Parish, like most Catholic-Christian parishes, spend a substantial amount of time during November and December - organizing, gathering, coordinating, and then distributing, Christmas gifts for children and families living in the parish boundaries.  Our St. Vincent de Paul Society has an adopt a family and toys ministry program; and volunteers from Travis AFB, who have partnered with the Canossian Sisters for several years also provide gifts to the Religious Education needy families here at OLOL.  In the wider greater Sacramento area other agencies and charitable groups, do more of the same for the less fortunate. When I was a Campbell Soup kid in the 1960's at Woodbine School in South Sacramento, each December a large barrel wrapped festively, was placed in the multi purpose room, to collect Christmas toys for the U.S. Marines'  Toys For Tots, program.  Toys For Tots, continues to function each year at this time, collecting and distributing toys for needy children at Christmas.  In addition to Toys For Tots, the Sacramento area media, including KCRA Channel 3 News is partnered with the California Highway Patrol again this year, in their, Chips For Kids program which collected Christmas toys from 4:30 a.m. - 7 p.m., at Cal Expo, today.  News 10, has been collecting Coats For Kids, their annual end of year, holiday and winter charitable program.  They are seeking to meet a Goal of 25,000 Coats this year and have thus far received some 10,000 Coats For Kids in 2011.  It continues through December.  All this in the spirit of generosity that the Lord's Coming at Christmas opens up in our hearts and hands to show for the poor and needy...........Fr.  Troy