The early opening of Old Navy’s Chelsea location on a bitterly cold morning could have happened on Black Friday, but inside it was more like Christmas Eve, with volunteers of all ages in Christmas hats, gathering gifts to spread holiday cheer.
Saturday, December 7, marked the annual St. Nicholas Project Shopping Day, where members of Catholic Charities of New York’s Junior Board and others collected winter clothing essentials on behalf of 100 families in need.
The St. Nicholas Project, a Catholic Charities initiative, is funded by two primary activities: the annual “Christmas in July” benefit event and Catholic Charities’ TCS New York City Marathon team, where about 15 participants run or walk the famous race while raising money for the cause.
Volunteers arrived well before the participating Manhattan Old Navy stores’ 10 a.m. opening time to complete their task, with the other stores located in Harlem, Times Square, and 34th Street. Each shopper received case information about the person or family for whom they were shopping, the person’s list of requested items, and a large, festive shopping bag in which to place the items. After finding items throughout the store, they “checked out” at the counter before the bag and related items were placed together with their related paperwork and then transported for distribution. Each volunteer handles one or two cases.
The cases and requests are determined by Alianza, a division within Catholic Charities Community Services. Alianza is also responsible for the distribution of the items to the families and individuals who request them.
Eric Diestelow was among those at the Chelsea location acting as a volunteer shopper. “It’s a great community, which is one of the reasons I wanted to be part of this,” he said of Catholic Charities’ Junior Board, which describes itself as “a fun group of passionate and philanthropic young professionals (ages 21-40) in New York.”
Diestelow began his shopping at about 8 a.m. when about 35 other volunteers were already picking up items around the three-level store on Sixth Avenue. He was shopping for a 15-year-old boy who lives with his grandmother. The boy’s mother was deported back to a South American country.
After a couple of trips up and down the Old Navy escalators, Diestelow was able to gather almost all of the items on the wish list. Store employees rang him up, and he handed off his bag to distribution volunteers.
“There’s such a need that it’s a great event, and it lets us see the fruit of our labor,” Diestelow said, the work in this case being the fundraising that allows the items to be purchased.
“It’s a great opportunity for young Catholic professionals to get together to support Catholic Charities’ volunteer opportunities,” said Will Wrotniak, a Junior Board member. Wrotniak cited his years of Catholic school education – he is a graduate of Fordham Preparatory School – as teaching him the concept of being “men and women for others.” Along with St. Nicholas Shopping Day, he pointed to the Junior Board’s Brown Bag Chef as a signature event, where volunteers pack and distribute lunches to those in need.
People interested in the work of Catholic Charities Junior Board can find more information on Catholic Charities’ website.