Students make Thanksgiving care packages for parish seniors

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Third-grader Armani Marceleno colors a Thanksgiving turkey drawing for care packages for St. Paul the Apostle Parish seniors.

By Anne Marie Amacher
The Catholic Messenger

DAVENPORT — Since St. Paul the Apostle Catholic School couldn’t host its annual Thanksgiving dinner this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the school came up with another way to make senior members of the parish feel special.

“The school has been hosting this dinner for close to 20 years. The students and parishioners always look forward to it,” said Julie Delaney, principal at St. Paul the Apostle Catholic School. “We couldn’t let COVID-19 totally derail us. Our Building Leadership Team met and decided we wanted to find a way to connect with our senior parishioners to express our gratitude for their support over the years.”

This year, all classes in the school participated by making items for care packages. Items in the packages included copies of prayers, turkey notes, hand-drawn placemats, prayer rocks, a grocery gift card and other Thanksgiving crafts.

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Everyone was excited to add items to senior parishioners’ care packages, Delaney said. “The students and staff will miss seeing them in person and sharing a meal, conversation and laughter, but we want them to know how much we care about and appreciate them.”

Seniors picked up their packages Nov. 24 in the school vestibule. For those unable or uncomfortable going to the main office, school staff members made deliveries, Delaney said. “We made sure that we followed our COVID-19 health safety plan,” she said.

Delaney said the dinner has been cancelled twice before — once due to a flu outbreak and once because of parish renovations.


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