The Office of Campus Ministry on the Long Island Campus hosted its annual Christmas Gift Drive this month, helping to provide a festive holiday for local families.
“We partnered up with Wyandanch Homes and Property Development Corporation (WHPDC) to support 25 low-income families with gifts for the holidays,” said Jonathan Galo, director of Campus Ministry at the Long Island Campus. “St. Joseph’s has partnered with this organization for over 20 years, providing countless gifts for families in need.”
This year, the gifts helped support nearly 100 individuals.
“More than 50 members of the campus community contributed to this endeavor, including students, faculty, staff, administrators, alumni and even a member of our Board of Trustees,” Galo said.
The Gift of Giving
Campus Ministry hosted a gift wrapping party Tuesday, Dec. 19, with well over 200 presents being wrapped. The gifts were then hand-delivered to each of the 25 families by Galo and SJNY student Jared Glennon ’24 on Wednesday.
“The joy that these families had in receiving these gifts truly made our efforts all worthwhile,” Galo said. “To know that these were going to be the only gifts some of these families would have to open on Christmas morning made it all the more special and important.”
Galo and Glennon were accompanied by several members of the WHPDC team, including Chanée Hammonds, associate director, who coordinated with Galo to ensure that every family was accounted for and receiving age-appropriate gifts.
Campus Ministry student worker Malaysia Burrell ’26 helped the drive run smoothly, receiving and organizing the donations and sending out gift tags to all donors.
“All in all, this was a wonderful way to bring cheer to our ‘dear neighbor’ during this holiday season,” Galo said. “It is my hope that we can get more people — especially students — to help us out when we hold our drive again next year.”
