Cross Catholic Outreach

Delivering food, shelter, and hope to the poorest of the poor

Delivering food, shelter and hope to the poorest of the poor.

Box of Joy® Impact

Blessing Impoverished Children With Christmas Joy

Box of Joy is an annual Christmas gift ministry facilitated by Cross Catholic Outreach and organized by parishes, schools and groups throughout the U.S. Every year, incredible participants and volunteers collect, pack and send presents to children living in extreme poverty. Many of the children served by Box of Joy have never received a Christmas present before — so each gift goes a long way toward making the season special.

Thanks to Catholics like you, 106,276 children received a Box of Joy during the 2021 Christmas season. These gifts were distributed by our ministry partners in El Salvador, Haiti, Grenada, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic.

Each gift was hand packed by 1,124 participating U.S. organizations, including 208 schools, 487 parishes and 429 other groups. Gifts traveled from 288 drop-off centers throughout the U.S. to our national screening center in South Florida where 855 volunteers inspected each gift and added a rosary and a story about Jesus to every box. A total of 393,865 children have been blessed with Christmas gifts since Cross Catholic Outreach launched the Box of Joy ministry in 2014. God bless you for your compassion!

106,276
Children
Received a Box of Joy
1,124
Groups
Packed Boxes in the U.S.
172
Participating U.S. Dioceses
48
Participating U.S. States

JOY FOR EARTHQUAKE SURVIVORS IN HAITI

GRAND’ANSE HEALTH & DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION

A smiling Haitian child holding a Box of Joy.

In August 2021, a devastating 7.2 magnitude earthquake rocked western Haiti, destroying more than 60,000 homes in and around the Grand’Anse region. The children in this area suffered tremendous losses and trauma, but through Cross Catholic Outreach’s Box of Joy ministry, boys and girls were able to feel the Lord’s presence in their lives.

In the aftermath, our partners in the region, including the Grand’Anse Health & Development Association (GAHDA), distributed 1,751 Boxes of Joy to these vulnerable children. For some, it was the very first Christmas gift they had ever received!

It was quite a journey to surprise these precious children with Box of Joy gifts. Cross Catholic Outreach shipped containers of presents from Miami, Florida, to Port-au-Prince, Haiti. After clearing customs, the boxes were driven for seven hours on rural roads and crossed a river to reach the village of Briyo. The children were delighted with stuffed animals, toys, clothes and personal care items, and every child received their very own rosary and a story about Jesus written in Haitian Creole.

Fast Facts

History

Cross Catholic Outreach began partnering with GAHDA in 2017. However, 2022 was the first year we collaborated to distribute Boxes of Joy.

Health

This ministry, located in the Diocese of Jeremie, primarily focuses on addressing unmet health care needs, breast cancer screenings, and developing the skills of Haitian health professionals.

Disaster Relief

Following Haiti’s 2021 earthquake, GAHDA and Cross Catholic Outreach partnered to distribute 72,000 meals and offer 10,180 people medical support.

Other Outreaches

In addition to safe housing, Cross Catholic Outreach partners with Caritas Santa Rosa de Lima to provide families with food, water, agriculture, microenterprise, education and spiritual outreach.

Donations from this campaign will be used to cover any expenditures for this project incurred through June 30, 2024, the close of our ministry’s fiscal year. In the event that more funds are raised than needed to fully fund the project, the excess funds, if any, will be used to meet the most urgent needs of the ministry.