Students form a toy bridage to transfer toys from one building to another. 

Students were excited to be “Santa” for the evening as they formed a 120 yard long toy brigade to transfer toys from one building to another for Bishop Feehan High School’s 15^th annual Santa Shop.  Students and staff collected over 3,800 new toys. This includes 400 pairs of new pajamas, and about $10,000 worth of free raffle items – 200 large items such as bikes, sleds, and huge stuffed animals.

 Tess Murphy (Mansfield) and Erin Garrity (Walpole) take on the toddler table at the Santa Shop.

Eight hundred students were present to assist with gift selections, transporting, entertaining, wrapping, babysitting, and kept things running smoothly as two hundred registered families from the area came to select toys for their children for Christmas.  Young children were entertained with games, face painting, crafts, and pictures with Santa. 

Junior Kayla Galetta (Norfolk) shows her holiday spirit at the Santa Shop.

Carla Tirrell, Director of Feehan’s Campus Ministry stated, “At the beginning of the event, I reminded our students that they would meet Christ that night; He would be present to them in the guests that they served. I asked them to spread Christ’s love to their guests, and to listen closely to the messages God had for them that evening. They must listen, for He would speak to them through their guests. The students understood that this event was about receiving, not about giving. Christ was coming to their home tonight, and they must welcome and receive Him and all He had for them.”

From left, Thomas Flett (Norton) and Michael Silvestri (Rehoboth) don warm hats while working outside in the toy brigade.

Sophomore Jillian Casarella wrote afterward, “Every toy, every parent’s joy, every child’s smile; each was a symbol of God’s presence, and each was a little piece of God’s love for us. I am so thankful that I was able to participate in this wonderful event. Not only was God present in us, He was present in those families as well. Thank you God for letting us do this for these families- we owe You BIG time.”

From left, Justine Miller (Norton), Taylor Levy (Norton), Tiffany Luongo (Attleboro), Kyle Pimentel (Attleboro), Kelly Byrne (Sheldonville), Mary MacBeth (Cumberland), and Alexandra Bamford (N. Attleboro) stick together in the toy brigade.

All surplus toys went to Catholic Social Services.