{"id":64318,"date":"2025-12-08T15:38:07","date_gmt":"2025-12-08T15:38:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/64318\/"},"modified":"2025-12-08T15:38:07","modified_gmt":"2025-12-08T15:38:07","slug":"cardinal-timothy-dolan-hundreds-of-volunteers-drop-by-nyc-old-navy-to-shop-for-strangers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/64318\/","title":{"rendered":"Cardinal Timothy Dolan, hundreds of volunteers, drop by NYC Old Navy to shop for strangers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cardinal Timothy Dolan and around 200 others moved through the aisles of Old Navy in Manhattan, shopping for hundreds of strangers on Saturday as part of St. Nicholas Project Shopping Day, a program run by Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Catholic Charities each year raises money, topping $70,000 this year, to spend in one day of serious shopping, where volunteers<\/a> are given information about recipients to buy winter clothing for individuals and families.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That\u2019s in addition to a program where people adopt families to shop for with their own resources during the holiday season.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a great tradition. Near St. Nicholas Day, we get all the magnificent young people who are devoted to Catholic Charities and the Archdiocese of New York and they go shopping,\u201d Cardinal Timothy Dolan said in the store. \u201cAnd the great thing about it is we know the names, the ages, their sizes and what they needed, so it\u2019s very personal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York CEO J. Antonio Fernandez said the day is \u201cabout helping\u201d people by providing winter clothes, as well as services all year long.<\/p>\n

Hundreds bustled around Old Navy, at 18th Street in Manhattan, Saturday morning and early afternoon as part of St. Nicholas Shopping Day, an annual tradition and example of selfless shopping that started in 2011.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Rather than shopping for themselves or their families, they shopped for strangers whom they had never met.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cThe volunteers actively choose and decide what will be the most beautiful objects for this family they never met,\u201d said Christina Perez, associate director of agency relations at Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York. \u201cThey\u2019re shopping for a stranger, but at that moment, that stranger\u2019s family is the most important thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Catholic Charities fundraises all year long to pay for winter clothing shopped for that day and later given as gifts for the Christmas season.\n<\/p>\n

Around 200 volunteers united in the store this year to shop for around 130 families and a total of 500 individuals. The entire project is expected to serve around 1,800 people.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot just a Christmas tradition\u201d<\/p>\n

Cardinal Timothy Dolan said that Catholic Charities \u201cdoes this every day,\u201d providing help and \u201cnot just a Christmas tradition.\u201d The St. Nicholas Project Shopping Day occurs on Dec. 6, the feast of St. Nicholas, honoring a figure very much part of and part of the heart of Christmas.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe loved helping kids,\u201d Cardinal Dolan said of the bishop who became St. Nicholas.\u00a0 \u201cThe kids who were in trouble, he would go around at night and leave gifts for them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Volunteers on Saturday at 10 a.m. in the spirit of St. Nicholas checked in and got sheets of paper with biographical information about individuals or families for whom they shopped that day.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou get to learn about the family,\u201d Perez said of sheets including a list with no need to count twice with sizes for coats, sweaters, hats, gloves, scarves and socks.<\/p>\n

Catholic Charities originally partnered with Kmart, before shifting to Old Navy. Rather than simply having recipients shop themselves, Catholic Charities decided to have volunteers pick the gifts based on their sizes and some preferences.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe decided to allow the public to come in and have a personal experience by learning and reading about our families,\u201d Perez said. \u201cThe families being shopped for know by Christmas day they will have gifts for themselves and their children.\u201d<\/p>\n

Catholic Charities continued the program even during the COVID-19 pandemic when stores were closed by holding an internal shopping day.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\u201cWe made a store in the basement of the Church of Our Saviour on Park Avenue,\u201d Perez said.\n<\/p>\n

\u2018New Yorkers helping New Yorkers\u2019<\/p>\n

The program has been growing gradually from about 100 families two years ago to 112\u00a0 last year to 130 this year.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the holiday season. Everything is on sale. This is the perfect time to do the shopping for this large a group of people,\u201d Perez added. \u201cWe bring other families from the public to come in and shop for other New Yorkers. It\u2019s New Yorkers helping other New Yorkers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Volunteers come from all walks of life, including many who sign up online at catholiccharitiesnyvolunteer.org.\n<\/p>\n

Gifts go to people in Catholic Charities\u2019 programs, such as senior centers, food, after school, mental health, case management and immigration.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cWe service them, know them and work with them,\u201d Perez said. \u201cThey are people who are so important to us.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

Volunteers don\u2019t meet the families they shop for with the clothing they choose loaded into trucks that go to people in programs. But they read a little bit about those for whom they shop.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Tiffany, one recipient, is a victim of domestic violence who lives in a city shelter, is slated to obtain an apartment and on a path to a new job.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

She works one day a week cleaning apartments and four days a week in the restaurant industry. Tiffany has two daughters attending school, with her oldest child seeking a student loan to attend college.<\/p>\n

Maria and Felippe are working parents with four children, including one who is the first in the family to attend college, seeking to become a doctor.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

And Rosa is a native of Ecuador who arrived in Texas in 2023 who has a two year old daughter and 22-month son.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

Case managers who know and work with the recipients all year often host holiday events where gifts are given to families.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes they wait,\u201d Perez said.\u00a0 \u201cSometimes they pull out the stuff right away and say I\u2019m wearing that coat now. \u201c\n<\/p>\n

The St. Nicholas Project also includes Adopt a Family, where hundreds of individuals and families \u201cadopt\u201d people from across New York City.\n<\/p>\n

Givers are matched with families based on how many people they can shop for,\u00a0 then shopping where they like, buying a wider range of gifts, such as clothing, backpacks, and gift cards.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey tell us the size of the family they\u2019re able to adopt,\u201d Perez said, noting good Samaritans never meet those for whom they shop. \u201cSome say a family of four, some say eight and some say one person. We match based on that.\u201d<\/p>\n

The St. Nicholas Project, Perez said, isn\u2019t just about recipients, but about those who shop for strangers, getting a deeper sense of the meaning of the holidays and helping others.<\/p>\n

\u201cVolunteers come to us year after year. I remember seeing a three year old come in who was four the next year, then five and six,\u201d Perez added. \u201cIt\u2019s such a great opportunity for parents to show their kids about the meaning of Christmas.\u201d<\/p>\n

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