A Look Back: St. Boniface

A Look Back: St. Boniface: The Tradition of Giving

BY HEIDI NUTI

Once a year on a crisp midDecember morning, Christ the King School students, parents, faculty and staff bundle up for a truly inspiring morning

of giving. Few parents have dry eyes as they watch the students line up on the playground with lovingly wrapped Christmas gifts intended for parishioners and others in need at St. Boniface parish in San Francisco. A highlight of the morning is seeing (and hearing!) members of the San Francisco Police Department arrive, sirens blasting, to accept the gifts on behalf of St. Boniface, and deliver them safely to their parish. CTK students bring thoughtful gifts for St. Boniface children, and some families provide additional gifts for babies and adults. In turn, the SFPD officers will often bring a little something for the CTK students—a sticker or candy cane or, if the students are lucky, a bomb squad or canine demonstration. This special event has been memorialized in yearbook after yearbook, on the news, and especially in the hearts of everyone who participates.

How It All Started

According to Jeanne Bucci, former vice principal and current 6th grade homeroom and middle school math teacher, CTK’s relationship with St. Boniface began in 1990, when then-principal Sister Timothy Anne Daily was contacted by the pastor of St. Boniface parish. The church is located in the heart of San Francisco’s Tenderloin District, across the street from Saint Anthony’s Dining Room. Their website proclaims: “We, the people of St. Boniface Parish are a culturally diverse and inclusive Roman Catholic community deeply rooted in the Franciscan Tradition, who seek a place of beauty, hope and refuge. An Oasis in the Tenderloin.”

St. Boniface parish assists a significant number of struggling families and individuals, many without homes. Thirty-one years ago, the pastor hoped to give the children in need some joy at Christmas with a small gift. Sister Timothy Anne agreed to help, and so the tradition began.

For the first few years, CTK placed a Christmas tree with wish-list tags in the school foyer, and families would select tags and place gifts under the tree. Sister Timothy Anne and school parent Bob Bucci (Jeanne’s husband) loaded up his old yellow Datsun pickup truck, and Bob and his sons drove the truck to St. Boniface with the gifts in the cargo bed. As the giving spirit grew and more families participated, the school began to place the wish-list tags in the weekly Family Envelope. Over time, families started purchasing gifts for the parents of the children in need. Bob and his sons were able to handle the gift delivery for a few years, but when the cargo bed of his small truck became insufficient to carry the mountain of gifts, three sets of families with their large SUVs took over for many years.

In 2009, school parent and San Francisco Police Department Captain Dan McDonagh (husband of Irene McDonagh, Classroom

“...One of the officers who has collected gifts at CTK every year since 2009 was a recipient of gifts from CTK when she was a child.“

Aide), made a generous offer. Captain Dan ran the department that covered the Tenderloin district. He arranged for any willing officers in his department to join him in volunteering their personal time to transport the gifts from CTK to St. Boniface. In fact, one of the officers who has collected gifts at CTK every year since 2009 was a recipient of gifts from CTK when she was a child. The police officers’ presence (along with their super cool sirens and vehicles) creates an elevated awareness and respect for the importance of the gifts and of their recipients. In recent years, CTK families have presented nearly 700 gifts each Christmas to St. Boniface. Current Vice Principal Alyssa Belz coordinates the details with the pastor of St. Boniface and the SFPD. Jeanne Bucci, Irene McDonagh, and the rest of the CTK faculty and staff continue to be involved and supportive, and the big-hearted San Francisco police officers continue to donate their time.

“We work together to create a memorable learning experience for the CTK children, and a memorable, magical experience for children of St. Boniface,” said Mrs. Bucci.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 6

Front Cover: Maggie Francis ‘24 and Jake Callahan ‘24 arrive at school with armfuls of Christmas gifts for families in need.

Opposite page: Rosie Butler ‘22 shares the spirit of giving during the annual St. Boniface gift drive.

Photo collage, current page (clockwise from top):

Members of the San Francisco Police Department volunteer to pick up gifts from CTK students and transport them back to St. Boniface Parish; students eagerly await their turn to hand their gifts to the officers; St. Boniface parish staff sort the gifts and distribute them to parishioners in need (photo courtesy: stbonifacesf.org); upwards of 700 gifts are collected each year.