In a large auditorium in Morgan Hill decorated with rows of
blue, tan, and green world globes, more than fifty women of all
ages laughed and joked together in small groups as they made
cutouts of cupcakes. They were coloring, cutting, laminating, and
binding books for children to use to learn to count and to practice
their ABC’s.
In a large auditorium in Morgan Hill decorated with rows of blue, tan, and green world globes, more than fifty women of all ages laughed and joked together in small groups as they made cutouts of cupcakes. They were coloring, cutting, laminating, and binding books for children to use to learn to count and to practice their ABC’s.
For two months, women from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints had been working on a school book bag project. They came together from Hollister, Gilroy, Morgan Hill and South San Jose to finalize the project Sept. 26, according to Diana Dufur, Public Affairs Director for local LDS churches.
“It required a lot of labor of love and money to bring this project together. I just feel that people need to know there are people out there who care,” Dufur said.
The women’s organization – known as the Relief Society – sewed 516 book bags, and then collected enough donations to fill the bags with pads of paper, pencils, erasers, sharpeners, colored pencils, and rulers.
The women also worked together creating educational games, such as a file folder game, and educational books to help kids learn their ABC’s.
“We wanted to do something for children; that’s why we targeted that,” said Valene Rose, a member of the Relief Society who chaired the project along with Ann Kelch, who oversees the Relief Society. “It was a lot of fun for us and we enjoy doing things like this with our church.”
While talking to Rose, I asked whether I should call her a Mormon. She told me that “Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints” is the more correct name to use, rather than “Mormon.”
“Mormon is really a nickname used because we’re known for the Book of Mormon. But we believe in the Bible. People think we aren’t Christians, but we are.”
The LDS church provides projects for humanitarian purposes to be used all over the world without regard to nationality or religion of the recipients. The book bags and file folder games were boxed up and will be shipped to Salt Lake City, Utah, the Church’s headquarters. They will be sent to areas around the country and world determined to be most in need.
But does that mean that their work only benefits people in far away places?
“The ABC books will remain local to the area,” Dufur said.
They will be donated to places in need, such as the John H. Boccardo Family Living Center, a transitional housing complex in San Martin.
“We also make up backpacks of educational supplies for local children in need each school year,” Rose said.
In conjunction with the school book bag project, the church also made a donation of $500 in food (vegetables, stews and roasts) to St. Joseph’s Family Center in Gilroy to serve those in need. The donation came from the church’s Bishop’s Store House in Santa Clara, a central location where people can go to donate or receive food and other necessities.
“Together with South Valley Community Church and St. Mary’s Catholic Church, we sponsor a blood drive in our building once a quarter with the American Red Cross,” Dufur said.
Fifty-two members of the Gilroy LDS churches (there are three, including a Spanish-speaking one) also participated in a recent cleanup of the creek area by Christmas Hill Park.
In a time when bad news seems to be at a premium, it’s great to live in a community where there is not enough space in this column to convey all the good news that folks like Dufur and Rose wish to share with us.
“We want people to know we are here, and we care,” Dufur said.
“It’s such a feeling that comes over you when you’re doing something good for someone else,” Rose said. “We have so much, we want to give back. If you give of yourself, you feel so blessed.”
