Tucson children help the homeless

These include such necessities as toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap, deodorant, shampoo, tissues, wipes, lip balm, etc. All of these things were put into a gallon-size Ziploc bag. Also included were icon cards of St. Nicholas and Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky. The children will take these into their family cars and keep an eye out for homeless people who often can be found begging at certain intersections in the city.
Since the previous week the children, under the tutelage of Halia Chirovsky, wife of the Rev. Dr. Andriy Chirovsky, had learned about St. Nicholas, his love and generosity towards those in need, and had received gifts from the saint during his visit to the parish, the following week they were taught to follow the example of St. Nicholas, rather than just expect gifts from him, for it is better to give than to receive.
The adults in the parish were shown the survival packs and encouraged to follow the example of the children. Many parishioners found this a positive way to concretely help street people without giving them cash, which may or may not be put to a healthy use. The parish is looking for practical ways to reach out to people in the surrounding community who are in need. This is all a part of the Vibrant Parish initiative: strengthening service in the life if the parish.