Joy is about to brim over in Brimfield – by the shoebox-full
Box of Joy is about showing the world’s poorest children that they are loved. Individuals, families, parishes or schools fill shoebox-sized boxes with small, age-appropriate gifts and bring them to drop-off centers, such as the drop-off and sorting center at St. Joseph Church in Brimfield. Box of Joy Week is from Nov. 2 to Nov. 10.
BRIMFIELD — Box of Joy coordinator Tina Windish of St. Joseph Parish, Brimfield is in her ninth year of what she describes as a “labor of love”: working with diocesan parishes and schools to collect shoebox-sized gift boxes for some of the world’s poorest children.
Individuals, parents and grandparents are encouraged to make a Box of Joy shopping expedition a new family Christmas tradition.” — Tina Windish, Box of Joy coordinator
The Box of Joy program – itself in its 11th year – is organized by the international relief and development ministry Cross Catholic Outreach.
Says Windish, “Individuals, parents and grandparents are encouraged to make a Box of Joy shopping expedition a new family Christmas tradition.”
Box of Joy is about showing the world’s poorest children that they are loved. Individuals, families, parishes or schools fill shoebox-sized boxes with small, age-appropriate gifts and bring them to drop-off centers, such as the drop-off and sorting center at St. Joseph Parish in Brimfield.
In addition to individuals and families, any parish, school, or church group is asked to pack the gift boxes (any shoebox-sized container approximately 12” long x 6” wide x 4” tall) with small, age-appropriate presents for a boy or girl, ages 2-4, 5-9, or 10-14.
GIFTING OPTIONS
Gift options might include small dolls or toys, coloring books and crayons, hard candies (except no Jolly Ranchers), T-shirts, pencils, pens and toothbrushes.
The following items are not suitable: military-style toys, any liquids/gels, medicine, anything with a battery, chocolate (as it melts), food, beverages or gift cards.
After adding a rosary and The Story of Jesus in the recipients’ native language, Cross Catholic Outreach delivers the boxes to children.
THE (CHRISTMAS) ANGEL IS IN THE DETAILS
Windish and “Team Joy” will be gratefully accepting boxes at St. Joseph Parish’s Harrison Hall at 320 E. Illinois St. on Saturday, Nov. 9, and Sunday, Nov. 10, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Those who would like to bring their gift box before then are asked to make an appointment by calling her at (309) 742-3081.
Shut-ins were thrilled to be able to participate in the campaign and for the opportunity to be involved ‘beyond their own front porches.’” — Box of Joy Coordinator Tina Windish
There is a $9 shipping fee for each gift box which can be paid online at boxofjoy.org, or by sending a check payable to St. Joseph Catholic Church to P.O. Box 199, Brimfield, IL 61517 (please put “Box of Joy” in the memo line). In addition, checks for any amount will be accepted at the above address.
Windish explains that with a $100 donation, she can normally stuff four gift boxes (including shipping fees). Last year she received more than $600 in donations from Catholic Post readers.
Included with some of these donations, Windish received some very touching notes from people who normally can’t participate in such a program. “Shut-ins were thrilled to be able to participate in the campaign and for the opportunity to be involved ‘beyond their own front porches,’” she says.
In 2023, the St. Joseph collection site provided Cross Catholic Outreach with 834 gift boxes (just 8 gift boxes short of their record high of 842) to distribute to children in the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Honduras, Malawi, Haiti, Nicaragua and Bahamas.
Parishes and schools that brought Boxes of Joy to the Brimfield drop-off center last year included The High School of St. Thomas More, Champaign; St. Augustine Parish, St. Augustine; St. Anthony Altar & Rosary Society, Atkinson; St. Mary’s, Wenona; St. John the Baptist Parish, Rapids City; St. Jude Parish and School, Peoria; St. Mary of the Woods Parish, Princeville; St. Anthony Parish, Bartonville; St. James Parish, Williamsfield, and St. Joseph Parish, Brimfield.
St. Joseph Parish’s Harrison Hall at 320 E. Illinois St. in Brimfield is a drop-off center for Box of Joy gift boxes on Saturday, Nov. 9, and Sunday, Nov. 10, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
ST JOSEPH TO BECOME SORTING SITE
This year, Windish says, the St. Joseph Brimfield drop-off site was honored to be asked by Cross Catholic Outreach if they would also serve as a remote screening center.
Nationally in 2023 there were 133,308 Boxes of Joy collected and sent to Florida for the screening process. Cross Catholic Outreach asked for help from experienced partners such as St. Joseph Parish in completing this important logistical task.
It will mean even more volunteer hours, but it’s an exciting challenge that Tina and Team Joy are embracing in the spirit of the season. Before the gift boxes leave Brimfield for Florida, all will have been screened and sorted into the appropriate age and gender .
For more information, call Windish at (309) 742-3081, or visit boxofjoy.org.
In the Ottawa Vicariate, please contact Box of Joy organizer Nympha White at (815) 483-3013, or at nym1019@gmail.com.
