By Ana Rodriguez Soto - The Archdiocese of Miami
MIAMI | A struggling mother who cleans houses to make ends meet, and whose “brilliant” teenage daughter is thinking of not furthering her education just to help mom.
A straight-A student who completes many hours of community service, and whose single mom is undergoing surgery, chemotherapy and radiation for cancer.
Photographer: COURTESY
One of the recipients of the 2022 Heart of Christmas gifts hugs her son after receiving her 0 gift card at St. Mark Parish in Southwest Ranches. 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.
A grandmother who quit her job to care for her grandchildren and their mother – her daughter – who is fighting an aggressive form of brain cancer.
A single mother of three who just came to the U.S. and cannot work to support her family due to her immigration status.
A family of four “constantly struggling to make ends meet.” Both children have disabilities, the father is the only one working, and they lack transportation.
A victim of spouse abuse who works in the fields and nurseries to provide for her four children, whom she is raising “very strong in the Catholic faith” while also helping her very ill mother.
The stories – listed in a spreadsheet – seem endless and heartbreaking: 221 in all, many referencing cases similar to the ones above.
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.
“We had a record-breaking number of applications this year,” said Katie Blanco Bourdeau, president of the Archdiocese of Miami Development Corporation.
Nevertheless, Archbishop Thomas Wenski agreed to fund all the requests and even increased the value of the gift cards from $250 to $500.
“We received donations this year to help the poor and people in need and we were able to fund all of the gift cards, which was a little over $110,000,” Blanco Bourdeau said.
That’s a big jump from when the Heart of Christmas campaign began in 2012, giving $500 gift cards to 40 needy families. The number of families helped has steadily increased ever since. In 2020, 205 families received $250 gift cards.
This year’s $500 gift cards were presented to the families the week before Christmas.
As the archbishop acknowledged in 2013, the Heart of Christmas gift “won't give anybody longtime 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.”
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