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| St. Francis of Assisi Life Teen group members help decorate tabletop Christmas trees for distribution to seniors by Meals-on-Wheels.
Photo provided |
It’s starting to feel a lot like Christmas for hundreds of seniors across San Antonio. Hand-crafted table-top Christmas trees were delivered to them with their Thanksgiving meal through the generosity of Meals-on-Wheels, the AT&T Pioneers volunteer group, and a local middle school student.
Students at Mount Sacred Heart Catholic School are encouraged to contribute part of their personal time to community service. A 13-year-old eighth grader at Mount, Eric Villarreal, wanted to find a project that would not only allow him to help the community but involve many of the groups and organizations that he is a member.
“When I heard about Meals-on-Wheels needing help making Christmas trees, I knew that was what I wanted to do,” said Villarreal. “My grandmother was a volunteer for Meals-on-Wheels and I would be honoring her memory. Decorating the Christmas trees would also help me get the different groups I belong to involved in the project.”
Villarreal found out about the Christmas tree project from his aunt, Rachel Perez, who is a volunteer for the AT&T Pioneer volunteers.
“Eric’s mom told me that he was looking for a community service project to do on behalf of his school and I told her that the AT&T Pioneer volunteers needed help making these table-top Christmas trees, said Perez. I was happy to have his help but he really exceeded everyone’s expectations. We’re all very proud of him.”
According to Marcia Lallky, director for AT&T Pioneers volunteers, Villarreal contributed about 10-percent of the trees that were distributed at Thanksgiving.
“We really appreciate his help,” said Lallky. “The AT&T Pioneers volunteers make the effort to send these Christmas trees to the seniors with their Thanksgiving dinner every year. This is the third year that we have been making the Christmas trees and thanks to people like Eric we’ve been able to increase the number of trees that are distributed each year.”
By reaching out to several groups to get help with the project, Villarreal was not only able to increase the number of trees that were decorated, he introduced dozens of young people to the project, many of whom have said they would like to do it again next year.
A parishioner at St. Francis of Assisi Church, Villarreal asked if the Youth Ministry program could help. The Life Teen and College Life programs responded by using their regular meeting times to help Villarreal make the Christmas trees. Other teen and youth organizations also responded.
At St. Mary Magdalen Church, the Life Teen group helped by buying decorations and making dozens of trees. Villarreal also contacted organizations where his family worked to help him. Some of the most creative trees were made by Edison High School, where his mother works as a counselor.
At Mount Sacred Heart, the school’s chapter of the National Junior Honor Society worked on Christmas trees after school to help. Villarreal’s Boy Scout Troop and many family and friends were soon contacting him with so many offers to help that the San Antonio area temporarily ran out of trees.
When finished the 12-inch Christmas trees are beautifully handcrafted works of art, reflecting the personalities of the people creating them. Starting with an undecorated tabletop sized artificial tree donated by AT&T, the average tree takes about an hour to complete. Items used to decorate the trees are up to the imaginations of the artists creating them.
Many of the Christmas trees were decorated using themes such as the Spurs, colors, or miniature toys. Many used the small beads from Marti Gras necklaces as miniature ornaments. Still others used colorful ribbons to create tinsel and garland.
The result is a holiday gift that seniors without the means or ability to make their own tree will have for the entire Christmas season.
Sharing in that joy, are dozens of local teens who were brought closer to the true meaning of Christmas as a time of giving and whose generosity has helped connect them to hundreds of San Antonio seniors.
The success of the project has encouraged Villarreal to begin planning future efforts to bring the joy of other holidays to seniors.
“I think that Valentines Day, Mothers Day and Fathers Day are holidays that we can create cards for and send out with Meals-on-Wheels to let our seniors know that people are thinking about them,” said Villarreal.