By Florida Catholic staff - Florida Catholic
Photographer: COURTESY
Jakelin Gabriel, one of the recipients of the 2023 Heart of Christmas gifts poses with her gift card at the South Dade office of Respect Life Pregnancy Help Center. The gifts were given out the week before Christmas. The program is conducted each year by the archdiocesan Office of Development, which requests applications from parishes, schools and Catholic Charities agencies in the Archdiocese of Miami.
MIAMI | A family with two young children is in a devastating financial crisis following the recent death of their primary breadwinner. They are struggling to meet basic needs such as food, housing and medical expenses.
A person diagnosed with cancer, after undergoing several procedures including surgery and chemotherapy, is currently unemployed and at risk of homelessness.
A 21-year-old father of a toddler, who wants to complete his culinary diploma and become a chef, needs help paying rent, buying food, clothes, diapers and toys for his baby.
A mother of a 20-year-old college student is facing eviction after falling behind on her rent when she took two months off work to care for her sister, who had been assaulted by her husband.
A family suffered a fire in their home that destroyed a bedroom, bathroom and personal items such as clothes and electronics. The damage has forced them to temporarily live in an Airbnb.
A single mother works two different jobs to support herself and her son due to high housing costs.
Those are some of the families helped by this year’s Heart of Christmas campaign. Their names and stories were submitted by representatives of Catholic Charities, archdiocesan schools and parishes.
This year, 281 individuals and families will receive either a $250 or $500 gift card to help them during the Christmas season.
“We received over $100,000 in private donations from the faithful of our community to help those in need this Christmas,” said Katie Blanco Bourdeau, president of the Archdiocese of Miami Development Corporation.
The Heart of Christmas campaign began in 2012 to assist families in need during the holidays. That year the archdiocese provided $500 gift cards to 40 needy families. The number of families helped has steadily increased since then.
Despite their difficulties, many of the nominees find time to serve their parish and school communities as volunteers, receptionists, religious education teachers and extraordinary ministers of Communion. Others are struggling parents who sacrifice to keep their children in Catholic schools, because they value the quality of education they offer.
“The Heart of Christmas brings hope and joy to many struggling families and reminds us that Christmas is more about good deeds than merely good feelings,” Archbishop Wenski said.
As the archbishop acknowledged in 2013, the Heart of Christmas gift “won’t give anybody long-time economic security” but it might “bring a measure of hope.”
After all, he said, “the message of Christmas means that the poor are not forgotten, that the poor are loved.”
