St. Patrick School students sorted socks for Catholic Charities’ Presents with a Purpose drive on Dec. 5. (Record Photo by Olivia Castlen) 
Volunteers Steve Wheatley, left, and Karen Feldkamp prepared gifts for St. Vincent de Paul’s Santa Shop on Dec. 10. (Record Photo by Olivia Castlen) 
St. Patrick School students sorted socks for Catholic Charities’ Presents with a Purpose drive on Dec. 5. (Record Photo by Olivia Castlen) 
Volunteers took inventory of donated gifts for St. Vincent de Paul’s Santa Shop on Dec. 10. (Record Photo by Olivia Castlen) 
St. Patrick School students sorted socks for Catholic Charities’ Presents with a Purpose drive on Dec. 5. (Record Photo by Olivia Castlen) 
A gift bag from St. Vincent de Paul’s Santa Shop is pictured in this photo taken Dec. 10. (Record Photo by Olivia Castlen 
St. Patrick School student Bennett Yost carried a box of donations to Catholic Charities’ Presents with a Purpose on Dec. 5. (Record Photo by Olivia Castlen) 
Donated gifts for St. Vincent de Paul’s Santa Shop are pictured prior to sorting on Dec. 10. (Record Photo by Olivia Castlen) 
St. Patrick School students Lena Brown, left, and Ben Kaminski helped sort toys for Catholic Charities’ Presents with a Purpose drive on Dec. 5. (Record Photo by Olivia Castlen) 
Donated gifts for local kids are pictured at St. Vincent de Paul’s facility on Dec. 10. (Record Photo by Olivia Castlen) 
St. Patrick School students sorted socks for Catholic Charities’ Presents with a Purpose drive on Dec. 5. (Record Photo by Olivia Castlen)
Colorful Christmas bags filled with sought-after toys — from Barbies to toy dinosaurs to tricycles — blanketed the floor of St. Vincent de Paul’s conference room the morning of Dec. 10 as volunteers prepared for the agency’s 29th annual Santa Shop.
This year, the organization transitioned to a “shop for a child” model in which parents and guardians completed wish lists for their children. Local parishes, St. Vincent de Paul conferences and individual donors shopped for more than 400 children this year.
Volunteers distributed the gifts to guardians on Dec. 13.
Among this year’s volunteers was Karen Feldkamp, who said she volunteers for the Santa Shop every year.
“It’s always a good time to volunteer, especially during Christmas.”
— Ben Kaminski
“It’s for the children, because otherwise they might not have anything for Christmas,” she said, as she sorted through donations on Dec. 10. “It’s just a way of giving back.”
Similar efforts were also undertaken by Catholic Charities’ Presents with a Purpose drive, which distributed gifts to more than 500 children through the agency’s programs, including Sister Visitor Center, Migration and Refugee Service, Community Support Services and the Bakhita Anti-Human Trafficking program.
The agency hosted various groups and organizations to sort and pack donations throughout December. Among them were St. Patrick School’s sixth graders, who volunteered the morning of Dec. 5 during a class field trip.
“It’s always a good time to volunteer, especially during Christmas,” said Ben Kaminski, a sixth-grade student, during an interview Dec. 5.
Ben was accompanied by his mother, Kristi Kaminski.
The service opportunity is a good reminder for the students “that not everybody has the same privilege that they do, and that giving back is a big part of what Christ calls us to do,” she said.
