Stamp Collecting Pays Off for Local Priest
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Jewel grocery store promotion has allowed Reverend Thomas Bishop to help the less fortunate.
Reverend Thomas Bishop from St. Anne's Church in Barrington has been on a mission to help the less fortunate one stamp at a time. He has led the way in collecting stamps from Jewel-Osco which allowed people in need to get much needed pots and pans earlier this year.
"It all started out because the pots and pans in the rectory were falling apart," said Father Tom. "I saw the promotion for new pots and pans for a penny each at Jewel and thought it might be a good way to get us some new ones. I asked our Pastor, Father Bernie Pietrzak, if I could put a letter in the weekly church bulletin asking parishoners if they would be willing to donate their stamps to us, if they were not using them for themselves, and then they just started rolling in!"
The Jewel-Osco promotion that ran through January stated that for every $10 spent at the grocery chain, a customer received one stamp. Customers who collected the stamps could redeem them for brand new, professional cookware such as a roasting pan, dutch oven and frying pans - for just one penny each. Each cookware piece had a stamp value assigned to it. For instance, in order to get the roasting pan, a person would need to collect 130 stamps which equates into spending $1300 at the store.
Enough stamps came in to the rectory that they were able to get a brand new complete set of pots and pans in just two weeks. But the stamps continued to come in, so Father Tom got an idea. He went to the St. Anne Sharing Board and suggested he collect the stamps to buy pots and pans for those in need at the St. Martin de Porres House of Harmony, Hope and Healing - a women's and children's shelter on the West side of Chicago. Many of the women who utilize the House of Harmony, Hope and Healing come from abusive situations and are trying to start a new life on their own. Father Tom has given about 70 pots and pans to this organization. He also has donated the cookware to St. Frances of Rome, a struggling parish in Cicero, a homeless shelter in St. Louis and the House of Hope at St. Anne's.
"I have been getting enough stamps to get an average of 10-15 pots per week. It is all from the generosity of our parishoners. The people have been just superb," said Father Tom. "People bring the stamps to the church office, they slip them to me after mass, they put them in the collection envelopes, the parishoners have supported this like you would not believe."
Through the promotion, he collected a total of 14,200 stamps and purchased more than 200 new pieces of cookware.
Father Tom says he does not do a lot of baking, but would love it if Jewel would do a promotion on bakeware next. "Just think about the bundt cake pans, cookie sheets and muffin pans I could get for everyone!"
"It all started out because the pots and pans in the rectory were falling apart," said Father Tom. "I saw the promotion for new pots and pans for a penny each at Jewel and thought it might be a good way to get us some new ones. I asked our Pastor, Father Bernie Pietrzak, if I could put a letter in the weekly church bulletin asking parishoners if they would be willing to donate their stamps to us, if they were not using them for themselves, and then they just started rolling in!"
The Jewel-Osco promotion that ran through January stated that for every $10 spent at the grocery chain, a customer received one stamp. Customers who collected the stamps could redeem them for brand new, professional cookware such as a roasting pan, dutch oven and frying pans - for just one penny each. Each cookware piece had a stamp value assigned to it. For instance, in order to get the roasting pan, a person would need to collect 130 stamps which equates into spending $1300 at the store.
Enough stamps came in to the rectory that they were able to get a brand new complete set of pots and pans in just two weeks. But the stamps continued to come in, so Father Tom got an idea. He went to the St. Anne Sharing Board and suggested he collect the stamps to buy pots and pans for those in need at the St. Martin de Porres House of Harmony, Hope and Healing - a women's and children's shelter on the West side of Chicago. Many of the women who utilize the House of Harmony, Hope and Healing come from abusive situations and are trying to start a new life on their own. Father Tom has given about 70 pots and pans to this organization. He also has donated the cookware to St. Frances of Rome, a struggling parish in Cicero, a homeless shelter in St. Louis and the House of Hope at St. Anne's.
"I have been getting enough stamps to get an average of 10-15 pots per week. It is all from the generosity of our parishoners. The people have been just superb," said Father Tom. "People bring the stamps to the church office, they slip them to me after mass, they put them in the collection envelopes, the parishoners have supported this like you would not believe."
Through the promotion, he collected a total of 14,200 stamps and purchased more than 200 new pieces of cookware.
Father Tom says he does not do a lot of baking, but would love it if Jewel would do a promotion on bakeware next. "Just think about the bundt cake pans, cookie sheets and muffin pans I could get for everyone!"
