Boonville parish youth spearhead food drive, distribution day

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Ss. Peter & Paul Parish’s teenage youth group in Boonville made a plan, asked for help, and witnessed God doing amazing things through their best efforts.

“I know I saw God’s face in the people we were able to help,” said youth group member Lillian Rohrbach. “I hope they saw Him in me and everyone else who was working there. I hope they saw our love for them.”

The youth group spent several weeks spearheading a community food drive to provide Thanksgiving Day meals for people in need.

They met with local business owners, placed collection bins at several locations, solicited cash donations from parishioners, and worked with a local grocery store to procure the food.

They organized a sign-up process, assembled the boxes and bags, and carried out most of the food distribution the Saturday before Thanksgiving.

That day, they visited with people, exchanged stories and basked in the light of their shared kinship in Christ.

“I could tell that Jesus’s word had gotten to many of the people by how appreciative they were,” said youth group member Zoey Lang.

This was the group’s first service project of this magnitude.

Father William Peckman, pastor of Ss. Peter & Paul Parish, and the parish’s stewardship commission encouraged the youth group to take the lead on a project to help the community.

It was one result of Bishop W. Shawn McKnight’s directive that parishes work on energizing the laity, promoting a spirituality of stewardship and becoming universally recognized centers of charity and sanctuaries of mercy.

“The young people are very capable,” noted Theresa Krebs, Ss. Peter & Paul’s director of religious education. “We should never sell them short.”

Lillian said organizing such an event from scratch was an adventure.

“We really didn’t have much to go off of,” she stated. “We had no idea how many people would even sign up.”

Turns out, the volunteers were plentiful, the donors generous, and the needs substantial.

“God was really there with us,” said Lillian, “and it was great to see.”

The owners of Midwest Autoworx, Breadeaux Pizza and Headlines Hair Salon in Boonville let the food drive’s young organizers place collection boxes at their businesses.

Thanks to the food donations and about $3,300 in cash contributions, the group could provide the fixings for full Thanksgiving meals for 85 families — an estimated 250 people.

Parishioner Jim Coleman, manager of the local C&R Market grocery store, helped them stretch the money further to provide additional healthy food to each household.

Ss. Peter & Paul Knights of Columbus Council 1061 let them keep the perishable food cool in the council’s refrigerated trailer.

The local food pantry helped publicize the Thanksgiving food distribution to its clients throughout October.

“The key was to steer them in the right direction and let them take charge of the rest,” said parishioner Anecita Alvizo, one of the youth group’s adult coordinators.

“I remember the preparation the most,” said youth group member Nathaniel Krebs. “There was a lot of work to be done before the actual event.”

He, Zoey and Lillian are graduates of Ss. Peter & Paul School.

Zoey is a sophomore and Lillian a junior at Boonville High School. Nathaniel is a senior at Fr. Tolton Regional Catholic High School in Columbia.

Gathering, packaging and distributing the food turned out to be a logistical masterpiece and a testament to intergenerational cooperation.

Things went very well. Most people accepting the food were grateful and kind.

A few weren’t. But that was also a good lesson.

“We don’t do this because it makes us feel good,” Fr. Peckman wrote to his young parishioners the day after the food distribution. “We do it because it gives us the opportunity to show forth Christ to others.”

Not that it didn’t feel great for those who took part.

“It makes my heart extremely warm to know I can help people like this,” Lillian said.

Exchanging words and smiles with people in need helped the young people appreciate things they had come to take for granted.

“I am very blessed and privileged with things as simple as food,” said Lillian. “It was good to be able to help. It felt good to give.”

A new beginning

Mrs. Krebs said it was very moving to be a part these efforts, “when you’re physically giving people food and knowing how grateful they are to have it.”

“It’s such a basic thing, but it can mean so much,” she noted.

Mrs. Alvizo was impressed at how the young people and their parents stepped up to the challenge.

“They’re running with the big dogs now,” she said. “They can handle it. Most of them are already active in 4H and in activities at school. Sometimes, I think we let the secular world do a better job of letting them be leaders than we do.

“The bishop is talking about stewardship and charity and mercy. This is what that looks like,” she said.

Fr. Peckman agreed.

“Today,” he told the young people, “you were good and faithful servants of the Lord and showed the best of what we can offer as a parish. Jesus was there many times over in the midst of everything you saw today.”

Nathaniel said he was happy to be able to help people have a better Thanksgiving and bring a bit more joy into their holiday.

“We are taught by Christ’s example to serve others, and I felt that we did that at our Thanksgiving distribution event,” he said.

Zoey said all of this was a great reminder of the importance of collaboration and unity of purpose.

“One person can’t change the world,” she stated. “It has to be a group, and you have to work together as a team to make something happen.”

She appreciates the lessons about God’s love and mercy that she learned in grade school at Ss. Peter & Paul School.

“God is always going to see the good in you,” she said. “He’s always there, He will always be there by your side, helping you and forgiving you along the way.”

Recently confirmed, Zoey hopes to continue practicing her Catholic faith as an adult and passing it along to her children.

Lillian said she hopes the Thanksgiving community food drive will become an annual tradition that gathers momentum and more participants each year.

She hopes that when she has her own children, they will be able to participate.

“God’s servant, a tool in His hand: that’s what I was really hoping to be with this,” said Lillian.

Zoey is convinced that this year’s effort was a great new beginning for the Ss. Peter & Paul youth group.

“I think it was very impressive for our first time around,” she said.

“But there’s so much more that needs to be accomplished.”

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