Community Stakeholders Unite to Make it a Highly Successful Day
By Jacqueline Burrell
Normally a 4-hour event, this year St Joseph Church’s annual coat drive was over in two. Hundreds of new and gently used winter coats were handed out to the community’s children, teens, and adults.
Coats were just one part of the day’s events. Community information, such as Voting, Health Needs, and Senior Services, filled in the rest.
“This is part of our community outreach. It’s a big event every fall,” said Father Donald Fest, Pastor of the 107-year-old St Joseph Roman Catholic Church. The event symbolizes what unity means, he said, when community stakeholders come together.
Community partners include Inova, the Police, Fire, and Sherriff’s departments, Alexandria Senior Services, Hopkins House, and the Knights of Columbus who donated six hundred coats and drycleaned all the donated coats. “The day’s success is due in large part to all of these partners.”
He also gave a big nod to CCNA’s supportive role. “A lot of this came about because of CCNA who coordinated this event with the parish.”
In addition to the coat giveaway, community members stopped by tables for info on:
– How to Register and Where to Vote for November’s upcoming election
– Inova’s 2022 Alexandria Community Health Needs Assessment
– Alexandria’s Services for Seniors
“A lot of people, many poor, are in need of all these services,” said Father Fest.
The church’s business manager, Beverly Anderson, described St Joseph as one of the most diverse churches in Alexandria. At the coat giveaway were Hispanic, Pakistani, and Afghanistan community members.
A 30-year church member, Anderson joined because of the church’s history of strong Black leaders such as Ferdinand Day and his daughter, Gwen Day- Fuller. “It means a lot to me to continue that legacy.”
Ferdinand Day is an Emeritus member of CCNA’s Board of Directors, and his daughter is a past Board Chair who aided the day’s coat giveaway.
Joe Brooks is with the Knights of Peter Claver (the oldest predominately African American Catholic league in the world) and very involved members of St. Joseph’s. “Today was fantastic,” he said, not only because of the many supporters who contributed or the hundreds of community members who came, but because “anytime you do something that benefits the community, it’s a great day!”
Brook lives in Loudon County, works at Fort Belvoir, and attends St Joseph Church because of events like the coat giveaway and other outreach the church does to help the community.
Mary Kent, a Diversity Task Force member, and part of Alexandria’s Democratic Committee provided voter information. “We encouraged people to vote, especially with the November election already started. We showed them how to register and where to go to vote.”
Assisting her was Fannie Allen of Allen Protocol Leadership and a long time CCNA volunteer. “It was a fabulous day. All the coats are gone.”
Beth Mahar, a retired Air Force Colonel, and member of the church’s Ladies Auxiliary, loves to help community members get their needs met. The best thing about being retired, she said, is “now I get to do what I want.”
We are pleased to partner with St Joseph, the church continues to make a difference in our community, noted COL RET Jim Paige, is “not the size of the building, it’s the heart of the people.”
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