December 17, 2007
Santa Claus arrived a little early at Loma Park Elementary on Dec. 17 to distribute toys collected through a campus-wide community service project at St. Mary’s University called ‘Marianist Miracle on 36th Street.’
Through the weeks-long effort, students, faculty, staff and alumni of St. Mary’s collected more than 1,000 toys, plus food and clothing items for those in need this holiday season. Santa Claus arrived – complete with a lights and sirens police escort – to distribute collected toys to the Loma Park Elementary students.
The Marianist Miracle project has been a collaborative effort between students, faculty, staff and alumni, led by the St. Mary’s Police Department, the Service Learning Center and the Bill Greehey Scholars. The project has included multiple events to collect the toys and clothing, plus 270 pounds of food items for the San Antonio Food Bank, and cash donations for Seton Home and Guadalupe Home.
Additional toys and other needed items have been distributed to a variety of agencies including the Battered Women’s and Children’s Shelters of Bexar County, St. PJ’s Home and St. Vincent de Paul of Holy Rosary Parish.