Hundreds celebrate the holidays at Catholic Charities party

Santa made a pit stop in Astoria last Thursday, hanging out with children and families at the annual holiday party hosted by Catholic Charities Brooklyn and Queens and Fidelis Care.

Children made crafts, took pictures with Santa, danced and got into the holiday spirit in the Mt. Carmel Church gymnasium.

With over 150 children and families in attendance and a line out the door waiting to get in, the event was an obvious hit with the community.

Debbie Hampson, director of the Catholic Charities Queens Community Center, said that the party had to be moved to Mt. Carmel Church after it grew too large to host in the community center.

Serving families in need in the community, Hampson said that Catholic Charities can make a big difference, particularly during the holiday season.

“For some families, this is the first time they’ve had a picture with Santa, or even as a family,” she said.

Families lined up to take those pictures with Santa, while kids ate healthy snacks, danced to music and played limbo.

Richard Slizeski, director of Parish and Community Outreach and Services at Catholic Charities, said that additional funding has really helped the organization with outreach this year.

Earlier this year, Catholic Charities distributed $150,000 to parish-based food pantry services with help from a grant from the Frederick Foundation.

“We’ve got some very significant grants this year from the Frederick Foundation, who wants to help out the community,” Slizeski said. “So we’re very excited that they’re helping us out this year with that.