Dressers… A Ministry for Life

By Patrick P. Gribben, Jr.
Member, Diocesan Pastoral Council

Leveraging an organization’s strengths and assets has long been a successful business formula. For a pair of mothers in The Catholic Community of St. Jude, DeWitt, leveraging parish strengths has been working wonders in their very successful “Dresser Ministry” - a program to help area women and couples cope with the burdens of unexpected pregnancies without resorting to abortion.

Karen Jonas (left) and Karen Popowitz (right) are the catalysts in the Dresser Ministry at St. Jude and they marshal the parish resources that have made the program the success that it has become during its 11-year history. Over that time, more than 50 dressers and cribs filled with baby clothes and related items have been collected and distributed in support of needy moms and their infants.

The program’s success flows out of St. Jude parishioners’ strong Pro-Life commitment and their willingness to back up that commitment by the generous sharing of their personal resources and talents. The end product of this effort is that each year, four or more completely outfitted layettes - including the dresser itself - are given to area mothers who confront a crisis pregnancy.

These are typical baby dressers and are filled with everything the mom will need for her child… everything from diapers and socks right up through "onesies" underwear to blankets and snowsuits. The layettes are welcomed gifts not only for their practicality but are treasured as well for the outpouring of emotional support they represent to the recipients.

The concept is not exclusive to the people of St. Jude. A number of DeWitt churches have similar ministries as do several Catholic parishes, including nearby St. Gerard’s. The area-wide involvement, in large measure, flows out of the tireless promotional work of a DeWitt native, Ann McNitt, who conceived the idea in 1991. She saw this effort as a material, positive response to the arguments of pro-abortionists. After conceptualizing her project and developing “how-to” kits to promote it, Ms. McNitt turned to the churches of DeWitt to pick up her cause and make it their own. That’s when St. Jude staff members turned to Karen Popowitz and asked her to become involved. Karen Jonas has partnered in the effort for the past six years. The two women work well together and bring a firsthand knowledge of the demands of motherhood to their work: Karen P. has four children and Karen J. has two.

The St. Jude dresser ministry does its good work primarily through five of the Lansing Tri-County Area’s pregnancy centers, with direct beneficiary contact being a rare exception for Team Karen. "The centers are better equipped and trained to do all the screening and to meet the many needs these women have than we are," Karen points out. "The centers are non-profit organizations that feature a strong Christian faith element in their programs, even including praying with the moms-to-be. The centers’ point of view on these matters is consistent with that of our parish. It makes sense to use them as our distribution channel."

To hear the Karens tell it, the program almost runs itself… almost, but not quite!

"Our parishioners are wonderful," the Karens note. "We put the dresser in a prominent position in the gathering space and include a list of all the items that need to go into the dresser. We promote the campaign through parish bulletin announcements and Fr. Dwight includes reminders in his closing remarks at the weekend Masses. Parishioners look over the list of needs and sign up to provide the baby supplies. The donors put their gifts right into the dresser. At that point, our job is to monitor progress and periodically, to make certain that the area is neat and tidy."

"Sometimes we move the dressers to other spots in the gathering space or drape clothing items over the dresser tops just to call attention to the project," they add. "Then, just like clockwork, at the end of four or six weeks, the dresser is filled and ready for delivery."

Not much to it, right? Well, maybe there is a little work… like getting the dressers in the first place.

"We get new and used dressers donated pretty readily by our parishioners," the Karens point out. "They come from people who are re-decorating, moving or who have children who have outgrown the furniture. Summertime seems to be the best time to accumulate them. Folks are clearing their houses and giving the furniture to the ministry as an alternative to garage sales."

"Right now," they continue, "the ministry has an inventory of five dressers. Thanks to about 10 or 15 folks in the parish who like woodworking and furniture re-finishing, the ones in need of repair are fixed and redecorated to look like new. Our parishioners are very supportive."

Last year, one of those supportive parishioners donated a portion of his earnings as a Santa Claus stand-in and three new dressers were purchased. With participation like that, the team at St. Jude was able to respond when the Red Cross came calling, looking for empty dressers that were needed to support victims of Hurricane Katrina. On behalf of the parish, "Team Karen" gave five dressers to the relief agency.

The ministry also enjoys support at various parish functions. Last year at the Ladies’ Christmas Tea, each attendee was asked to bring a package of diapers for the project. After that, the Karens were up to their hips in diapers for quite a while. Storage space isn’t overly abundant at St. Jude, but room was found.

"The Karens" ask that the items going into the dressers be new. They will take an occasional used item that is " …very, very, close to new." Karen notes, "The folks getting these dressers are not affluent by any means and they probably already have had their share of hand-me-downs. This should be a different and happier experience."

The ministry leaders find that a surprising number of parishioners will personally make the items they have agreed to donate. "We get beautiful blankets and hooded towels," Karen said. "Often the donors will include a letter to the mom containing words of encouragement. In at least one instance, this provided a healing opportunity for the donor. She had originally made the item for a baby who did not survive birth."

As might be expected, the summertime diversions of parishioners make that not the best time to conduct dresser drives. The ministry also avoids the Advent season so to not interfere with the parish Christmas giving tree project for the less fortunate in the community.

Sometimes special needs expressed by the centers lend some variety to the work of the ministry.

"The centers will tell us what they especially need and we will have a drive for that" the women said. "Our 'Bottle, Bible and Bib Drive' was one of those. Items like those do not get donated as much as clothes. Another 'twist' is when we will use a baby crib instead of a dresser and will have a 'Cram the Crib Drive.' Parishioners can then fill the crib with any type of baby item they want to give."

The program’s effectiveness is attested to by the "thank you" notes sent in by the moms. In those few instances where the parish members deliver the dressers directly to the recipients, they get to experience that gratitude first hand.

"There was one time when we delivered our dresser along with some other badly needed items directly to the mother’s home," the Karens recall. "She was so overcome that all she kept saying was 'It's almost like Christmas… it's almost like Christmas!"

"The ministry really is not that much hard work for us," the two Karens say, "It is the parish doing it all… from donating the dressers, redecorating them if need be, filling them and finally, helping us deliver them."

As for the satisfaction to be drawn from this parish effort, the Karens speak with one voice, "We know through this ministry that the parish community has helped quite a few women make their lives better. The letters of gratitude are filled with such moving stories. Then there are those times when we deliver the dressers directly to the moms and we can see firsthand how thrilled they are. Some are so overwhelmed that they are speechless. It is motivating to us because there is so much missing from these women's homes. It is a vivid reminder of what we take for granted… and should not!"

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Persons to Contact:
Karen Popowitz and Karen Jonas
Dresser Ministry
Catholic Community of St. Jude
PO Box 280
DeWitt, Michigan 48820
Phone: 517-669-8335
Fax: 517-669-8343