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Santa boots made by sisters reap booty for children

by Rose Frances Phalin, FSPA

Our Chileda project has become a yearly tradition here at St. Rose Convent. We retired sisters have been making our small contributions to this great work of caring for the children who come to Chileda for care from all over the U.S.A.

What do we do? We make the small paper "Santa boots" which are placed in the Christmas letter sent to the many donors. The boot allows the donor to place his/her donation inside the boot for return. The green yarn tie allows the boot to be hung on the Chileda Christmas trees. The children delight in decorating the trees.

Making these Santa boots has been our community project for almost 20 years. It requires a good organizer and many willing helpers to trace, cut, paste, punch and tie the green strings. This November, after three days, we completed 6,000 Santa boots ready to accompany the Christmas letters to the donors to remember Chileda in their holiday giving.

Sister Jeanice Lohman organized our first response to this request by the Chileda staff. The number of boots was probably only 2,000 at that time. The assembly line method of systematic production was put to work by our able and well known Sister Jeanice, and our Santa boots were well received and served to make for a happy Christmas for Chileda. Expansion is always a mark of a successful business, and the "Santa Boot Factory" had to move from the Ivy Room, known to many as the North Dining Room, to the spacious Art Room on second floor.

In addition to our need for more space the yearly demand for the boots increased to our present number of 6,000. Under the able leadership of Sister Alice McMullin and her helpers, we retired St. Rose sisters are willing, challenged and happy to make 6,000 Santa boots because that means that Chileda has made many generous friends over the last twenty years.

God bless Chileda as now in 2006 it has relocated to a new building on Victory Street in south La Crosse with lots of activity space.

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