Bismarck's Society of Saint Vincent de Paul put together some incredible Easter baskets full of food and toys to give away to those in need in our community on April 13, 2019. With plenty of help from local parishioners and our community, generous donations of money, food, and creative Easter-themed crafts filled and adorned the Easter baskets with food and cheer for our friends in need in our community to enjoy. Here are some stats:

- 95 kids toys baskets were given away
- 50 food baskets with family-sized Easter meals were also given away
- baskets were decorated and filled with Easter cards made by the Cathedral school kids
- St. Mary's Academy students, staff, and administration collected food items for the baskets
- Sam's Club, South WalMart, and North & South Perkins donated pies so each family could receive a pie with their basket
- Mandan Dan's Supermarket donated candy for the kid's baskets
- Dr. Sid Schmidt (Prairie Rose Dentists) donated toothbrushes and toothpaste
- Cathedral donated their gymnasium space to organize the basket filling operation, and Deacon Randy from Cathedral blessed the baskets with a special prayer before they were given away

Throughout the year as SVdP encounters and helps people in our community, we take note of families (especially with children) and invite them to receive an Easter basket or Thanksgiving basket (whichever one we decide to do that year). Baskets are delivered and picked up, joy is spread, and bellies are fed! It's a wonderful way to meet our friends in need in the community in a joyful way outside of their requests for assistance and simply do something nice to make their holidays more joyful.

Without the help of our caring community this would not be possible, so thank you to everyone who contributed!