About US
Mission Statement
The Chapter of the Christ Christ Child Society of the Western Reserve shall be an organization primarily dedicated to child welfare. Its motive and spirit shall be a love of Christ expressing itself in personal service for children and youth regardless of race or creed to honor the childhood of Christ.
We serve "one child at a time" through our hands-on pre-school vision screening program, provide camperships, scholarships and layettes to infants and children in need throughout Lake County, Ohio.
We continue to follow the vision of Mary Virginia Merrick, Foundress of The Christ Child Society. "Nothing is ever too much to do for a child."
What we do and how we do it:
Since 1983, the Christ Child Society of the Western Reserve has worked to meet the growing needs of children in Lake County. We serve thousands of children annually and our ten programs are made possible through the generous financial support of donors and the generous volunteer support of our members.
We work directly with many social service agencies, healthcare facilities, and schools to identify under-resourced, in crisis, and at-risk children who would benefit from our services.
Our History - Celebrating over 100 Years of Service
The Christ Child Society, founded in 1887 in Washington, D.C. by Mary Virginia Merrick is a national non-profit organization dedicated to making a difference in the lives of children in need. For over 130 years, the 6,000 members in nearly 50 chapters across 20 states have been driven by faith,
love, and a desire to change the future for these deserving children.
The Story of the Red Wagon
The Red Wagon has played an important role in the tradition of the Christ Child Society. The Merrick family laundress had a son named Paul, whom Mr. Merrick engaged to help his invalid daughter, Mary, by running errands and helping deliver gifts for her. Just before Christmas of 1884, Mary asked him what he would have for Christmas. The boy promptly replied, “I won’t have nothing: my father’s out of work.”
Mary’s own happy Christmases supplied the answer to that. She suggested that Paul write a letter to the Christ Child. “Who’s He?” was the question that revealed a poverty in his life more tragic than the jobless father. Mary’s answer had classic simplicity. “He is the Giver of all good gifts. This is His birthday and He gives gifts instead of receiving them.”
The little boy flew from the room and quickly returned with six little letters. His own request was for a “red wagon for myself to carry home Mother’s wash. ” That was not all. With complete confidence in Miss Mary’s recommendation, he soon was back with many more letters from
'children who live near us and who are just as poor as we are.” Mary distributed the letters among her family and friends and Paul’s eyes were big with wonder on Christmas Eve at the wealth of the Christ Child! Each package was lovingly wrapped and each bore the message, “From the Christ Child” - nothing more.
Due to her physical condition, Mary sewed layettes from a prone position. These layettes were distributed to the underprivileged by Paul in his red wagon. She could not know then that someday, nearly 6,000 women in 45 cities would be helping her do the work of the Christ Child and acquainting little ones with His goodness.
History of The Christ Child Society of the Western Reserve
In the summer of 1983, Helen Dineen, Patricia Bringardner, Flo Dietrich, Muncie Demeter, Kay Leonard, Mary Ann McCann, Kay Redmond, and Barb Spittler met in Helen's backyard and decided to start a chapter of the Christ Child Society in Lake County.
An invitation was sent out to friends and Parishes in Lake County inviting women to an information meeting to be held at the Chapel of the Divine Word on Tuesday October 4th 1983 at 10AM. The meeting was successful and 92 members committed to join as charter members and a new chapter was formed. It was decided to call this chapter the Western Reserve Chapter. Father Tom Johns was appointed by Bishop Pilla to be our Spiritual Advisor. The National Christ Child Society accepted our request to be a chapter and in 1986, we formally received our charter.
Helen Dineen, a prominent Catholic in Lake County, who we considered our guide through the process of formation remarked at our formal acceptance meeting "The sea was so wide and our boat was so small but how truly grateful we are to Him who we feel has been constantly at our side doing the pulling of the oars. Yes, Virginia Merrick, there is a new Christ Child Chapter." Helen passed away in September 1993.
The Helen Dineen/Christ Child scholarship has been set up in her honor at Ursuline College.
By 2016, the chapter had grown to 304 members.
