The Winkler siblings place a positive message that they wrote into the outreach bags.
Last year, Andrea and Brian Winkler from Warrington were looking for an opportunity in which their three children, Tessa (6); Dylan (5); and Allie (4) could get involved in service at a young age. They wanted to teach them to give back to those in need.
After looking at different local opportunities for her children’s involvement, Andrea stumbled upon the Archdiocese of Philadelphia’s website about making outreach bags filled with food, beverages and other necessities for people in need in Philadelphia and the five surrounding counties, including Bucks and Montgomery counties.
She decided to look for a place where friends, family, and the local community could gather to put these outreach bags together. Andrea asked the Pastor of her Parish, St. Cyril of Jerusalem Church in Jamison, to include her service project in the Parish Outreach Program.
As a result, in July 2023, Andrea and her family held their first outreach event. With the help of generous friends and family members volunteering their time, they assembled 50 outreach bags filled with donated food for those in need.
Parishioners (of St. Cyril) and other members of the community had so much interest in this event, spearheaded by Andrea, that they gradually started making 200 and then 300 outreach bags on a monthly basis. Each month, they generated more and more support as well as new volunteers to come out and help.
Fast forward to Wednesday, August 14 when more than 70 community members, consisting of children and adults literally formed lines to volunteer their time filling outreach bags with donated food and toiletry items for local homeless people. As a result, they assembled 650 outreach bags, reaching a milestone of 4,850 bags donated to those in need since this event’s inception just a little over a year earlier.
Once the outreach bags are assembled, a representative from the Archdiocese of Philadelphia’s Office of Nutritional Development comes to the Church to pick up the bags and distribute them to those in need.
Andrea explained that each month they make different types of bags. One month they make child snack bags for children at after-school programs or for kids visiting a soup kitchen. The second outreach bags are for adult homeless men and women, and the third bags are breakfast bags for senior citizens or shut-ins.
Brian and Andrea Winkler work alongside their children filling outreach bags.
Andrea described how they have met many people who attend their event monthly regardless of other priorities. Many volunteers come early to set up or stay late to clean up. Others donate generous quantities of snacks for the bags each month. Taormina’s Pizza & Pasta in Ivyland even donated pizzas for volunteers, out of the kindness of their hearts.
“It’s not just me seeing this. Our kids are witnessing the good that is around them, and so I am grateful to everyone for that,” said Andrea.
Andrea is grateful to Monsignor Robert Powell at St. Cyril of Jerusalem for supporting her idea and welcoming anyone interested in putting together these outreach bags at the Church’s Social Hall.
A generous contribution from the Knights of Columbus, combined with the generosity of parishioners, friends, family members, neighbors, and community members enabled Andrea’s idea to come to fruition with so many people eager to donate to this worthy cause.
Andrea emphasized that this event “is not about me even though I coordinate it. It always was and continues to be for my kids and for other families who want an opportunity for their kids to give back to others.”
Prior to assembling the donation bags each month, “my kids, along with children from other families, decorate the outside of each bag and then write an encouraging note that they place inside, so it’s become a part of everyday life for them,” describes Andrea. “My children love coming to this monthly event. It becomes a social event for them where they see many of their friends who are also volunteering their time.
“They don’t even realize that they are giving back, and that’s honestly one of the things I love about this. I love watching these kids stuff bags for people they don’t know and not even realize the difference they are making. So, the message I think they are getting from this is that giving back is just part of what you do, and that being kind and helping others is what we as parents want to enforce in them.”
Andrea added, “If you take a minute to look around during these monthly outreach events, you’ll see young children, such as preschoolers, kindergarteners, and school-age kids, performing acts of service without even thinking twice about it, smiling and having fun.
We’re hopeful that one day, they will remember those bags that they stuffed when they were just kids and will keep paying it forward.”
The next outreach event is Wednesday, September 11 during which times volunteers will help assemble breakfast bags for seniors or shut-ins. Bring your family and come help out!
These outreach events are held the second Wednesday of each month at 5:30 pm at St. Cyril of Jerusalem Social Hall, 1410 Almshouse Rd. in Jamison. For more information on making donations or volunteering, visit amwinkler14@yahoo.com or call Andrea directly at 732-995-5490.