St. Patrick’s CWL Christmas Bazaar & Tea supports charities near and far

Craig Bakay | Nov 08, 2019

Sharon Smith said being the convenor at the annual St. Patrick’s Church sale in Railton is a fairly simple job.

“All these women do equal work (and) they know what they have to do at their tables,” she said last Saturday. “So being a convenor is a breeze.

“It’s basically just getting the information out.”

This Catholic Women’s Leagued fundraiser is billed as a Christmas Bazaar and Tea and as such Smith credited Brenda Lesperance and Pauline Hogan for running the kitchen.

But besides the craft and bake tables, they also run a number of games for the kids and raffles.

“The funds we raise go to the charities we support,” said Josephine Quesnel, who named the Food Bank at the Grace Centre, the Loughborough Christmas Fund, New Leaf, In from the Cold and “we also support our own members like paying for parking an gas if somebody’s in the hospital,” she said.

However, they also have another pet charity, that Quesnel seems to have a soft spot in her heart for.

“We just call it ‘Tuk,’” she said, pointing out pictures on the wall of her trip to Tuktoyaktuk, which includes one of the legendary monster mosquitos there.

“Our parish is twinned with the one in Tuk,” she said. “We send everything to the Arctic — socks, mittens, underwear.

“The women make it and we ship it.

“We don’t have vendors, just us.”