Hat Pax - Fleece for Peace
Br. Al Mascia, OFM, surrounded by students at Crescent Academy
Something as simple as a hat can transform the life of a 4-year-old child in metro Detroit.
The “Hat Pax” program is an outgrowth of the Care’avan manned by Br. Al Mascia. He writes: “We have ‘branched out’ to serve others, such as these school children, within brick and mortar structures–sometimes a school and sometimes an established soup kitchen–where we are able to employ more creative means of addressing such human needs as hunger, shelter and clothing.
In this case and at this school we have established a food pantry for the children’s family households, distribute hundreds of our Snack Pax to augment their nutritional needs and engage in creative activities such as the Hat Pax initiative.”
Photos are from a charter school called the Crescent Academy that exclusively serves children living below the poverty line.
Br. Al Mascia, OFM
“Aware that many of these children will be in need of warm items such as hats this coming winter season we decided to transform a simple distribution of goods into an exciting and fun-filled event wherein the children themselves designed their own hats by selecting multi-colored fleece panels from a wide selection which were then sewn and completed by some of our volunteers and then delivered to the students about a week later during a huge celebration!”
-- Br. Al
Br. Al Mascia, OFM, is a Franciscan friar of the Province of Saint John the Baptist. He is currently serving at the Song & Spirit Institute for Peace in Berkeley, Michigan.
This article first appeared in the SJB News Notes, October 30, 2014. Ms. Toni Cashnelli, Director of Communications
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