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Why We Carol...
| St. Louis Christmas Carols Association - 7425 Forsyth Boulevard, Suite 353, St. Louis, MO 63105 - 314.863.1225 Email - stlcca@att.net |
| Caroling for the St. Louis Christmas Carols Association gives TWICE to your community: once, sharing the gift of holiday music with your listeners, and twice, as the funds collected go to help St. Louis area agencies that serve children. |
| Caroling is a unique and very special experience for the caroler - Here are some personal descriptions... |
| From Bob W. of the Webster Groves Statesmen singing group, in an email to group members: "Finally, for those of you unable to come to the First Annual Statesmen Christmas Caroling last night, you really missed something special... we met at Judy's home and spent the next hour and 45 minutes strolling through Webster Park caroling. The night was crisp but between our 42 layers of clothing and the joy of the season we stayed plenty warm. Each house we sang at was gorgeous; all decked out with plenty of lights and looking like a set for a Hollywood Christmas movie. The people were universally surprised and delighted to see and hear us. It was especially neat when there were small children (for whom we of course sang Jingle Bells). One little boy in his pajamas looked for all the world like he was seeing Santa himself. His expression was priceless. We finally had to quit when we couldn't stuff any more money in the Christmas Carols can!! One family put in a $50 bill! We had so much fun we decided to do it every year, so mark your calendars now!" |
| From a parent at SouthSide Early Childhood Center, a funded agency: A reflection on December 14 at SouthSide :-) "The parenting meeting had it going on - we had over 50 parents at the meeting, with a lot of information given, also toys for families (thank you!). The main fun part was Christmas Caroling in the neighborhood. I am 40 years old - I was acting like a kid! I had sooooo much fun singing Christmas songs in English and Spanish. I had a night out with my SouthSide Family. Thank you SouthSide staff & family!" |
| From a high school student: "I was thinking about caroling today. I want to thank you for having such a wonderful program, I really do appreciate caroling every year with my church group. I go to Ladue Chapel and my mom gets church members together every December for this. I have had so much fun with it and made so many memories. participating. So, again, thank you!! What you do is really appreciated. I can't wait for this Christmas!" Much love, Victoria |
| From Cathy Nickens - Ritenour Area Chairman: On December 23, 2009 members of Stephan Memorial UMC (now Harmony UMC) caroled for the first time at the bottom of the escalator in the East Terminal at Lambert Airport (near the luggage return) - such a delightful and heart-warming experience for our group! We watched the faces of the travelers as they rode down the escalator. Many smiles, mouthing of the lyrics and comments like "What a nice welcome to St. Louis!" greeted us throughout the four hours. One of the security guards even came over and sang a song with us. A lady rode down and made a donation and then rode back up where she had been listening to us while waiting for her guests to arrive. Not only did we have great collections for our charities, we truly felt we were "ambassadors for Christmas in St. Louis". Truly one of the best volunteer activities of my life! The group has caroled every December 23rd since - caroling in Terminal 2 from 10 am - 8 pm, greeting holiday travelers and collecting over $1200 in donations each year! In 2011, Airport Director Rhonda Hamm-Niebruegge was seen joining the carolers for a few songs! Cathy's carolers at the Airport! |
We have been caroling for the St. Louis Christmas Caroling
Association at the airport for about 15 years now. The girls in our
Girl Scout Troop were only about 9 or 10 years old then. I think we
may have missed a year or two in between some where. Now,
some of the girls/young women are college graduates and some
are married. We always look forward to our time to carol at the
airport. We always brought goodies for the troops and made a stop
at the USO on our way to our designated spot to carol. This year we
will be picking things off the USO wish list to donate, because they
will no longer accept home baked goodies. The girls enjoyed
seeing the smiling faces and felt good about themselves doing this
as a service. Some years there were more of us than other years,
but we were always able to go. The weather never interfered with
this service/field trip because we were indoors!! The young ladies
like the idea of continuing doing service together even though we
are no longer a troop.
We usually are able to get one of the hotels near the airport to
shuttles us over to the airport. Hilton did for years but the last
couple years the Marriott has been gracious to us. One year, the
Hilton was hosting a Christmas Party for the Christen's Home
orphans and asked us if we would sing for them, too. We did, and
they treated us to a fine turkey dinner with the party participants.
We even ended up on the channel five news.
I particularly like that the money stays in the area that it is
collected! We have seen many changes in the economy over the
years, and some years the donations have been better than others.
We still enjoy spreading good cheer!
Sincerely,
Maggie Steitz
former GS leader
Association at the airport for about 15 years now. The girls in our
Girl Scout Troop were only about 9 or 10 years old then. I think we
may have missed a year or two in between some where. Now,
some of the girls/young women are college graduates and some
are married. We always look forward to our time to carol at the
airport. We always brought goodies for the troops and made a stop
at the USO on our way to our designated spot to carol. This year we
will be picking things off the USO wish list to donate, because they
will no longer accept home baked goodies. The girls enjoyed
seeing the smiling faces and felt good about themselves doing this
as a service. Some years there were more of us than other years,
but we were always able to go. The weather never interfered with
this service/field trip because we were indoors!! The young ladies
like the idea of continuing doing service together even though we
are no longer a troop.
We usually are able to get one of the hotels near the airport to
shuttles us over to the airport. Hilton did for years but the last
couple years the Marriott has been gracious to us. One year, the
Hilton was hosting a Christmas Party for the Christen's Home
orphans and asked us if we would sing for them, too. We did, and
they treated us to a fine turkey dinner with the party participants.
We even ended up on the channel five news.
I particularly like that the money stays in the area that it is
collected! We have seen many changes in the economy over the
years, and some years the donations have been better than others.
We still enjoy spreading good cheer!
Sincerely,
Maggie Steitz
former GS leader
Girls in 1998...
And in 2010!
And in 2010!
When you carol, you never know who you will touch. After our Christmas in July caroling event at Lambert St. Louis Airport on July 24, 2011, we received this email : Dear Ms. Koontz, Every year my wife and I choose a Sunday in July to celebrate what we call “Christmas in July.” After church we get out our Christmas music, exchange gifts, and start working on our to- do list for the December Christmas. This year we had been planning on July 24th as that date. My wife was supposed to return from a business trip from Dallas the evening of the 23rd. Unfortunately, she missed her plane Saturday evening, and again on Sunday morning, due to security problems. When she finally got home to Saint Louis at 4:30 PM Sunday afternoon, she was obviously not in a good mood. I was there to greet her, and told her I had a special surprise for her. When I took her downstairs and she heard and saw your carolers, her mood changed dramatically. She loved the big sign they had that read “Christmas in July.” Thank- you very much for allowing us to keep our Christmas in July. William U. Maryland Heights, MO |
| St. Louis Christmas Carols Association Caroling to Benefit Children Since 1911 |
