Avon Teens Join in Sending Gifts to Military for the Holidays
Story by Shelley Wolf
On a Saturday in November, 15 teens from St. Ann Parish in Avon spent their morning serving the men and women who protect our country far from home.
In the gymnasium of New Britain High School, they joined hundreds of other people from throughout Central Connecticut in wrapping and packing food gifts for military members in time for the Christmas holiday.
“It’s important to help. Some deployed members don’t have family looking out for them,” says Victoria Borisov, a St. Ann Youth Ministry member who is in the eighth grade. “A big part of our Catholic faith is helping others, and this fits with that. It’s a good cause.”
“Service work is important when you’re Catholic,” adds Henry Madison, a seventh grade youth ministry member. “We’re here to support the men and women overseas, so they can have the holiday spirit. I wish I could do more.”
This service activity is one of many good works performed by the St. Ann Parish Youth Ministry. The Avon teens were escorted by Caroline Mascoli, the new director of youth ministry for the parish as of last September.
Mascoli is encouraging the youth ministry members, especially those who are confirmation candidates, to put in at least eight hours of service for the year. “For confirmation candidates, we’re trying to follow the Corporal Works of Mercy and find events and activities related to that,” she says.
Students fulfill three categories of service: (1) individual, (2) with family and (3) with a group.
Mascoli chose the “Boxes to Boots” group event, which she had heard about from other high school groups. “It was top of my list because I knew it would be a great way to get kids involved in the community,” she says. “And, I have two brothers in the Marines, so it hits close to home for me and will for the students here as well.
The “Operation Cares 2025—Giving Thanks to Our Troops” event was sponsored by “Boxes to Boots,” a nonprofit started in 2015 by Karen Cote, a military mom in Berlin. At the 2025 event, the Avon teens and hundreds of others worked at 90 tables packing care packages of breakfast treats and snacks, and fun gifts such as Frisbees, for 1,800 to 1,900 service members.
“It was so nice that active military were here to make it even more meaningful,” Mascoli notes. Some local military members, such as the ROTC and the Connecticut National Guard, were present packing boxes, receiving boxes and loading the trucks.
Mascoli’s fiancée, Sean Murphy, accompanied the Avon teens. “It’s wonderful,” he says of the event, which also included a DJ playing popular dance music. “It’s such a fun way to get them involved with community and start them out.”
Mateo Garza, a senior in high school, recently joined the St. Ann Youth Ministry. “I just learned about this group and events and want to go to more. I felt connected to the people and the others but also to God himself,” he says.
“We were writing Bible verses on cards,” Garza adds, “and if one of those verses can get along to a soldier, it can bring faith to them as well.”