Appleton parish holds annual event to encounter and aid the community
Story and photography by Michael Cooney | For On Mission
APPLETON, WI — At St. Thomas More Parish in Appleton, the words “All Are Welcome” are lived rather than spoken.
On Saturday, December 6, 2025, parishioner Karen Rickert once again organized the parish’s annual community celebration, reaching out to families in need, people experiencing homelessness, and anyone struggling to get through the season. Saturday marked the third year of the annual event.
“Seeing the need in our community has just been overwhelming,” Rickert said. “People are homeless or in transition. They’re in need of a little extra. Food sources are getting cut, housing is getting cut. Families are having to choose — pay our rent, buy our food, or get our kids a Christmas gift.”
Those who know Rickert describe her as empathetic, creative, industrious, and giving. She is quick to redirect that praise.
“Christ is calling me to do it,” she said. “Every day I wake up, and it’s like, ‘What can I do for somebody else?’”
Rickert’s commitment to service is rooted in her own difficult early years.
“I always vowed to myself that I don’t want somebody else going through this stuff,” she said.
That promise guided her adult life, shaping a life of Catholic service that spans decades and crosses borders.
Rcikert has volunteered with St. Vincent de Paul, World Relief, Catholic Financial Life and multiple parishes throughout the Fox Valley.
She has organized toy giveaways for children of incarcerated parents, visited nursing homes, and coordinated parish drives for clothing, food, and hygiene products. Through her work with St. Vincent de Paul, she meets regularly with people experiencing homelessness.
“We try to help those who are in need,” she said. “We call them our friends in need. We’re just trying to help them out and get them on their way again.”
The “All Are Welcome” event requires year-round effort. Donations come from Catholic parishes across Appleton, community organizations and individuals who simply hear about the need.
“We just ask for donations,” Rickert said. “We go to all the Catholic churches in Appleton. We ask community sources for donations of money. The Community Clothes Closet gets snow pants for us. The Knights of Columbus donated about 100 coats.”
The greatest annual challenge is winter boots, she said. “The boots are so expensive. Forty bucks a clip and you’ve got 100 kids — that adds up quickly. Next year, my goal is to find a sponsor to help us pay for the boots.”
This year, Rickert expected to serve around 200 people, but attendance grew beyond that.
“We were well over 200 — about 220, 225 individuals,” she said. “We were thinking about 50 families, because we have 50 blessing bags made up with hygiene items and food bags. We kind of have to cut it there, or everybody won’t get one.”
Families arrived from shelters, from the school district’s homeless program, and in some cases from their cars.
“Some are living in their car,” Rickert said. The large number of Hispanic families attending struck her mainly because of the fear many live with. “But I think they’re feeling comfortable coming to the Catholic Church. I feel we’re a safe place to go to.”
Volunteers — more than 75 — came from parishes, Catholic Financial Life, Knights of Columbus, Lions Club, and individuals who simply walked in and offered help.
Guests begin the day by gathering together for a noon meal, sharing food and conversation. Children stayed busy with games and crafts, surrounded by volunteers and parish members.
At 1 p.m., families are invited to begin shopping. The event is organized so families can shop with dignity and in privacy.
The Children’s Shopping Room is a special room where parents are not allowed, giving children the chance to pick out a surprise gift for their parents. Volunteers help them choose something meaningful and assist with gift wrapping so the children can carry home a true surprise.
Parents have their own room where they can quietly shop for their children. It gives them a moment of joy and relief — choosing gifts that they otherwise may not be able to afford.
After shopping, families head to the gym, where they can receive blankets, boots, coats, winter clothes, and other basic necessities for the coming months. The room is set up in an orderly but welcoming way, allowing each family to receive what they need without pressure or judgment.
Rickert sees this structure as a practical expression of Catholic social teaching — honoring dignity, providing hospitality, and ensuring every guest knows they are valued.
She and her husband, Jerry Rickert, extend that mission beyond Wisconsin. Through the Diocese of Green Bay missions, they have traveled to the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Honduras, assisting communities lacking basic necessities.
Before one trip to Haiti, volunteers at St. Thomas More Parish gathered to sew dresses and underwear for children, responding to a need they could meet with their own hands.
Rickert’s commitment is personal. She says that many husbands take their wives out to eat for their birthdays, but for her recent birthday, she planned to ask her husband for something different.
“He says, ‘You don’t have to tell me. I know what you want to do,’” she said. “So we made sandwiches and bought potato salad and all this food. We went out to the street looking for homeless people. Wherever we could find people who were hungry.”
She recalls one man walking down College Avenue with everything he owned.
“Jerry said, ‘Look at that guy. I bet he’s homeless.’ I didn’t want to embarrass him,” she said. “But we rolled the window down, and Jerry said, ‘Hey, are you hungry?’ And he said, ‘Yeah.’ So, we pulled over, got him a bag of food, and gave it to him.”
The Rickerts also serve as Vincentians with St. Vincent de Paul. They meet people in crisis, supply vouchers for clothing, coats, boots, sleeping bags, and bus passes, and provide rides when needed.
“We’re trying,” she said. “We’re working with St. Joe’s Church and with Pillars too.”
The emotional weight is real, Rickert said. “It tears me up — there’s so much need,” Rickert says. “We live in such a rich community, and there are so many people hurting.” She leans on Mother Teresa’s reminder: “One person at a time.” Friends repeat that to her often. “They say, ‘Karen, you can’t solve all the problems in Appleton.’ So okay — one person at a time.”
Rickert’s entire family gets involved. Jerry is a full partner in the work and serves as Santa Claus during the event. Their daughter, Angelica Rickert-Smith, assists, and their grandchildren — Kamar Carter, Amelia Carter, Michaela Rickert, and Liam Smith — serve as elves, greeting families and helping children.
Asked what continues to motivate her, Rickert returns to her central message: “Christ is calling me to do it. God just wants… every day, what can I do for somebody else?”
“Jesus can’t be here walking with these people,” she says. “So I guess that’s what we’re called to do — walk with people in need.”
In that walking, Rickert says she sees both the hardship and the hope of her community. “It tears me up… but this is what we’re supposed to do.”
And on one winter Saturday each year, under the words, “All Are Welcome,” her parish lives that call out loud.