April 6, 2018 at 1:53 p.m.
ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI PARISH, ALBANY
New Mary's Corner site offers basics for babies
New Mary's Corner site offers basics for babies
Now, a third Mary's Corner site is being added at St. Francis of Assisi parish in Albany. It will officially open April 24.
The Albany Association of the Ladies of Charity, an international organization serving marginalized people, runs Mary's Corner. The Ladies of Charity were founded by St. Vincent de Paul, the patron saint of charity; the group's website states that the earliest members -- including St. Louise de Marillac -- "went quietly about their tasks, seeking no recognition, satisfied with the knowledge that they were serving Christ in the person of the poor."
The Ladies of Charity brought Mary's Corner to the Capital Region in 2010 with a site in the Cohoes Library. A second site opened in 2013 at the Sister Maureen Joyce Center, an Albany soup kitchen and food pantry.
Mary's Corner serves families with children from birth to age four.
Monthly supplies
"Families are able to come once a month," said co-coordinator Candice Stellato. The store-like sites offer each family a five-day supply of diapers, baby formula, baby food and cereal, as well as baby wipes, baby wash, diaper rash cream, three complete outfits, a seasonal jacket and three books.
"We try to give each family a stroller, too," Ms. Stellato noted, and bottles, sippy cups and other toys are available. Every six months, patrons of Mary's Corner can get new crib sheets and a blanket, as well.
The two Mary's Corner "stores" are stocked entirely through donations and run by volunteers.
"The response has just been incredible," said Ms. Stellato, who expects to help between 40 and 50 children at the new location.
"Most of the people [served at St. Francis of Assisi's site] will not be Catholic," noted Deacon Raymond Sullivan, who recently retired as parish life director. "We don't do it because they are Catholic; we do it because we are."
New needs
Mary's Corner will cover about the same geographic area of Albany served by St. Francis parish: Delaware avenue toward Morton Avenue, Lincoln Park toward Eagle Street and down South Pearl Street.
"This is not a wealthy area," Deacon Sullivan observed. "These families can really be helped with baby food, baby formula and baby care. All you have to do is walk up and down Delaware Avenue and you'll see the need."
"We have actually kind of had our eye on this neighborhood for a while, especially after opening up the Sister Maureen Joyce Center [site]," said Ms. Stellato. The area has been growing in recent years, due to immigrant and refugee families resettling in the community; she believes as many as six different languages are now spoken in the area.
To be patrons of Mary's Corner, families must be referred by one of several Catholic outreach ministries: the social services ministry of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Albany, St. John's/St. Ann's Outreach Center at St. Francis of Assisi parish in Albany, the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants, the Family Promise program and Healthy Families of Albany County. The referral process ensures that the families do, in fact, need the services that Mary's Corner provides.
(For information, contact Ms. Stellato at [email protected].)
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