Boxing Joy to the World

Dec. 1, 2025

Scores of K of C councils prepare Christmas care packages for children in need across the globe

By Megan Stibley

Dec. 1, 2025

Members of St. Philip the Apostle Council 17028 pack some of the 250 Boxes of Joy collected from the council and parishioners of St. Philip the Apostle Parish in Lancaster, Pa. (Photo by Michael Miville)

Santa has extra helpers this Christmas season — thanks to more than 130 councils across the United States that have partnered with Cross Catholic Outreach. For nearly a decade, Knights have transformed parish halls into holiday workshops where they prepare Boxes of Joy for children around the world.

Volunteers fill boxes with toys, clothing, school supplies, a rosary and more, which Cross Catholic Outreach then distributes in eight developing countries, including Haiti, Guatemala and the Dominican Republic.

“In many cases, this is the only thing these children are going to get for Christmas,” said Ashley Stinnett, deputy grand knight of Bishop Joseph H. Hodges Council 9483 in Hurricane, W.Va., who serves as Cross Catholic Outreach’s K of C liaison. “They’re getting the fun things, but they’re also getting the meaningful impact of the Gospel.”

The Knights of Columbus began partnering with Cross Catholic Outreach in 2017, three years after the Florida-based nonprofit launched the Boxes of Joy initiative. This past year, the partnership yielded more than 327,000 meals during K of C-hosted food packing events. Now, 132 councils are helping provide nearly 25,000 Boxes of Joy — about 15% of all pledged packages before Christmas.

Among the participating jurisdictions this year is Pennsylvania, where St. Philip the Apostle Council 17028 and St. Philip the Apostle Parish in Lancaster have assembled Boxes of Joy for the past five years, contributing about 1,100 boxes and counting.

“After Mass, the kids run up to get boxes and are excited to help their parents fill them up,” said Brian Smith, Pennsylvania state treasurer and a member of Council 17028. “It’s a whole parish effort, and it’s really neat to see.”

This year, councils also included a Sacred Heart of Jesus prayer card in each Box of Joy as an extension of the Order’s current Pilgrim Icon Program.

“The Knights and Cross Catholic Outreach share the same mission to help those in need through charity,” Smith said. “These Boxes of Joy are meant to remind the children that the heart of Jesus and Christ’s love is always with them.

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MEGAN STIBLEY is associate editor of Columbia.

Keep Christ in Christmas-themed model boxcars roll along the O-gauge track layout at the Railroad Museum of Long Island

Boxing Joy to the World

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