Helping Hands/ Warm Hearts

When Susan Catozzi's, a teacher at St. Francis Xavier School, had to recently hospitalize her son Matthew, who was ill with bacterial pneumonia, the school community sprang into action to help.

The Helping Hands/Warm Hearts program was begun last year with the St. Francis Xavier Home and School Association director, Michell Langlais, to support school families and friends.

Susan Catozzi, a teacher at St. Francis Xavier School in Winooski, and her son, Matthew, are among those who have benefited from the Helping Hands/Warm Hearts program. Matthew was recently hospitalized with bacterial pneumonia, and volunteers from Helping Hands provided meals to the family..

Since then, Langlais has enlarged the scope of the program. "I want the families of St. Francis Xavier to know and feel that our school community is an extension of their existing family structure," she said. "We are here for them during the good and difficult times. This sense of community and belonging enhances our strength as a school. We are a community of caring individuals - not just an institution for learning."

The program is designed to support the school community in celebrating accomplishments and special events, as well as supporting folks during difficult times. The services provided can range from flower deliveries to celebrate the birth of a new child to home-cooked meals brought to a family suffering from sickness. However, all needs are considered, and the Home and School Association will try to provide almost anything: rides to families in need, emotional support, underwriting extracurricular activities for students and recognition for personal accomplishments.

A team of volunteers runs the program by donating  meals, offering rides, writing notes and delivering or picking up items. The committee is led by volunteer and SFX parent Tina Zuk, who Langlais said has "been a home run."

"She is an organized and dedicated leader who has a caring and nurturing demeanor as well as the time to support the needs of the program," Langlais said of Zuk.

Recipients of the program have included Catozzi and her family, a family who had a member undergo serious cancer surgery, and the celebration of the 80th birthday of one of the school's revered teachers, Sister of Providence Bibiane Crete.

New this year will be the Giving Tree. This Christmas, the program will have a tree displayed in the lobby of the school with ornaments identifying items needed for the Winooski Family Center. This project allows the school community members to join in and recognize the local community's needs and give back to the community that supports the school. It also allows them to remember those individuals and families who are less fortunate.

Expenses for the program have been nominal to date, and donations have so far been sufficient to cover the costs.