Christmas party helps families in need during the Christmas season.
On December 14, 2019, Malvern held a Christmas party for St. Patrick’s parish to give children a fun day and to help families during the Christmas season.
According to Fr. Chris Drennen, who helped run the party, setting up and coordinating it was a group effort.
“The Mothers’ Club and specifically Mrs. Becket did most of the heavy lifting for the party. They helped with the food and served it to the St. Pat’s kids,” said Fr. Drennen.
However the help did not end there, with a large number of student volunteers showing up to facilitate the party and its activities.
“A major part of the party was help from student volunteers and some of the guys who helped Mr. Stewart with the sports. We had the rowing tanks open and basketball courts for the kids to use. We had a group of senior guys who dressed up as Santa and elves for the kids,” Drennen said.
Andrew Carlson ’22 was a student volunteer at the event, and said he participated to help those in need.
“I think the party is held to give these children a special Christmas and help out the families who can’t afford gifts for their kids,” Carlson said.
Drennen agrees with Carlson, saying the purpose is to celebrate the holiday with those in need.
“The main purpose of the party is to celebrate Christmas and help out the families of the parish who may not be able to buy gifts for Christmas. The gifts from the gift drive are given to the parish who then help out the mothers of these less fortunate families,” he said.
Drennen said that the party also offers an opportunity for students to take away a key lesson.
“We think it is important for Malvern students to be exposed to a culture that is not found on our campus,” Drennen said. “We live so close to Norristown and feel it is good to help out a community in need of help nearby.”
Malvern focuses on the idea of ‘reverse missioning’, which also played a role in the party, according to Drennen.
“As Fr. Reilly commonly talks about, this was reverse missioning. We brought the kids onto our campus and gave them things to do in hopes of making them have an enjoyable day,” Drennen said. “We are not attempting to go out and save the world, instead we are making a small difference within a nearby community that will more importantly change ourselves and bring us closer to God.”
