Stuff the Chapel

 One would think that filling a chapel at a Catholic school would not be much of a challenge.

Nancy Robert (2nd from left) with ND sstaff & tudents.

But Notre Dame Jr./Sr. High School put a unique twist on the concept as a way to get holiday donations for Mother Marianne’s West Side Kitchen and Boutique.

Thus, Stuff the Chapel was born.

“Campus Ministry hosted the ‘Stuff the Chapel’ event and the whole student body, staff and families came together and donated both food pantry items and boutique items,” noted Campus Minister Brittany Wilcox (at right in photo). (Photo left to right: student Andrew Scalise, Boutique Coordinator Nancy Robert, students Jenna Herron and Logan Shedd, and Campus Minister Brittany Wilcox.)

The chapel pews were literally stuffed with some15 bags of food for the soup kitchen and 33 bags and boxes of clothes, stuffed animals, men’s underwear, blankets, hand warmers, pillows, hats and scarves for the kitchen’s free boutique. 

Noting that she was new to the position, Wilcox credited previous Campus Minister Bob McQueen with sparking the interest in helping out the soup kitchen and boutique. “This year the Campus Ministry Leadership Group decided to call it ‘Stuff the Chapel’. ''

In an email to boutique coordinator Nancy Robert, Wilcox summed up the effort in two words:
“Merry Christmas!”

Students stuffed the chapel with donations for the soup kitchen and its boutique.