St. Max volunteers collect goods for local charities
By Stephanie Bertholdo bertholdo@theacorn.com

GENEROUS RESPONSE- Volunteers from St. Maximilian Kolbe Catholic Church in Westlake Village prepare to distribute some of the donations they have gathered in the recent Project Response charity drive. The goods will be distributed to 22 charities. STEPHANIE BERTHOLDO/Acorn Newspapers

Project Response, an outreach ministry at St. Maximilian Kolbe Catholic Church in Westlake Village, recently stocked the shelves and coffers of 22 local charities.

On Feb. 1, the ministry collected food, clothing, personal items, school supplies, baby items, paper goods and money to support food banks, education for homeless children, housing for low-income families, shelters for abused women, senior programs, job assistance charities, and many other area philanthropic agencies and organizations.

St. Max parishioner Joann Benson founded the ministry in 2000 and served as director for five years before turning over the job to Norm Lamarra. Benson now assists Lamarra by maintaining ties to the various agencies.

Although Project Response has been steadily growing, organizers this year broadened their collection effort by dividing the parish into four geographical areas and asking members to contribute just once per year.

"We ask (charities) what they want," Benson said. "(Then) we come in with a wish list and tell organizers what's needed."

"It's amazing," said Jerry O'Connor, a software consultant who produced donor lists and neighborhood maps for volunteers to use when collecting items.

The Rev. Patrick O'Dwyer was impressed with the amount collected this month. "This is great this year," O'Dwyer said. "We are really blessed to participate (in the outreach) four times a year."

The recipients included: Angels Way, a maternity home for single pregnant women needing shelter; St. Michael's Elementary School in Los Angeles; Catholic Charities of Thousand Oaks; St. Vincent de Paul of Thousand Oaks; Conejo Valley Women's Resource Center; CDC Conservation Camp, a women's detention center in Malibu; Mission Evangelica Siloe; Covenant House, a charity for runaway and homeless youth; The Homeless Breakfast; Family to Family, a hunger relief program; Jobs for the Future; School on Wheels, an education program for homeless children; The Sisters of Notre Dame; Life Centers of Ventura County; MANNA, a food bank in Thousand Oaks; Senior Concerns; Many Mansions, an organization providing housing for low-income families; Sarah's House, a housing program for homeless people in Northern California; St. Lawrence Brindisi Elementary School in Los Angeles; The Guadalupe Center, a social service agency for Latinos; St. Max Good Samaritan Fund; CAST and LAMP.