New Ministry To Atlanta Has History Of Helping Infants

By ERIKA ANDERSON, Staff Writer

Published: November 27, 2003

ATLANTA—As a teenager in the late 19th century, Mary Virginia Merrick took a terrible fall. Her injuries from that fall resulted in her confinement to a wheelchair for the rest of her life.

But that didn’t stop her from doing God’s work.

Merrick spent her time sewing infant clothing and encouraging family and friends to join her in preparing a layette for a poor Christmas baby, the first of thousands to be given by chapters.

From her spirit and dedication, the Christ Child Society was born.

Currently, over 7,000 members nationwide continue the work of Merrick in the Christ Child Society. There are 38 chapters in 16 states and in Washington, D.C.

Seven women in Atlanta are hoping to create the 39th chapter.

A membership drive luncheon was held Nov. 12 at the Dunwoody Country Club and was attended by hundreds of women from throughout the archdiocese.

Diane Scalise, president of the National Christ Child Society, spoke at the luncheon of her own experiences with the organization. “I was a child that no one thought had a chance.”

Scalise, a resident of Arizona, recalled her second week of the seventh grade. Her mother was an alcoholic and had been gone for days, and Scalise had an abscess in her tooth. But she remembered a free clinic down the road and went, only to be met with a sign that said “Volunteers Not in Today.”

However, a kind person took her in and helped her.

“There were people who cared, people who made sure that I made it,” she said. “Open your eyes, ladies. Open your hearts and your arms. People are in need in this community.”

“This is the hardest work you’ll ever love,” she told the crowd. “There is nothing, nothing like saving the life of a child.”

She also encouraged the women just beginning their organization to pray and to turn to the national office for guidance.

“I will pray for you, Atlanta, so you open your eyes, ears, hearts and minds. Choose your projects, make your moves cautiously, celebrate your victories and allow yourself a failure now and then,” she said. “Create your future so you never have to hang a sign that reads, ‘Volunteers Not in Today.’”

Margaret Saffell, executive director of the National Christ Child Society, also addressed the group, assuring them that she was available for help.

The idea to begin the Christ Child Society of Atlanta began with Casey Long, co-president. Her mother, Abigail Sammon, served as the president of the Cleveland chapter, and Long watched her mother serve for years and was inspired to start the chapter in Atlanta.

She expressed her desires to her friend and now co-president Anne Marie Newman, who had wanted to find a service project in which to invest her time.

St. Jude School parents, Newman and Long recruited other friends, including Barbara Poole, former principal at St. Jude’s and now co-vice president; Terri Wortham, co-vice-president; Julie Moyers, treasurer; Tana Riddell, membership chair; and Katy Asip, social chair.

In addition to the Christ Child Society’s signature program of donating layettes—which include bedding and bath supplies, sweaters, socks, diapers and bibs—to needy mothers, the Atlanta chapter has partnered with the Grant Park Clinic to hold a book drive.

The Grant Park Clinic serves over 600 needy women through their pre-natal care, as well as 7,000 other patients annually. One of the things that most drew Long to the Society was its legacy.

“This is an organization that is over 100 years old and is run with the expertise, support and counsel of women,” she said.

In a letter of approval written by Archbishop John F. Donoghue to Poole, he expressed his enthusiasm in Christ Child coming to Atlanta.

“I was delighted to read that you and some others are interested in forming an Atlanta Chapter of the National Christ Child Society,” he wrote. “I am very well aware of that society. It was very active in the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C., where I grew up and spent most of my priesthood.”

“I learned a great deal in those days about Mary Virginia Merrick, its founder,” he continued. “I would love to see a chapter of the Christ Child Society get started here in the Archdiocese of Atlanta and I will encourage you in every way I can.”

Newman wants people to know that the organization is here to stay.

“We want people to know that this is a long-term thing. How many times in Atlanta do we get to introduce a 100-year-old organization?” she said. “This is a celebration of our own faith and the amazing things our fellowship yields.”

The first meeting of the Christ Child Society of Atlanta will be held Feb. 4, 2004, at St. Jude Church. Mass, celebrated by Msgr. Daniel O’Connor, spiritual advisor of the Atlanta chapter, will begin at 9 a.m. From 10-11:30 a.m., members and interested guests will be labeling and sorting used books, and putting together the first of the chapter’s layettes. Those who attend are asked to bring used books. Layettes can also be purchased for a donation for $45 each.

For more information about the Christ Child Society of Atlanta, call Anne Marie Newman at (770) 730-0826, or e-mail her at newm8952@bellsouth.net. Members can also be reached by e-mailing christchildatl@bellsouth.net.

The National Christ Child Society has a Web site located at www.nationalchristchildsoc.org.