One of UAB St. Vincent’s most treasured traditions, the Stocking Ministry, will celebrate its 60th anniversary this Christmas.
The Stocking Ministry began as an initiative of the Auxiliary to celebrate newborns during the holidays by giving handmade Christmas stockings to families. The ministry has grown to include more than 25 volunteers who dedicate more than 3,500 hours of work during the year to provide the St. Vincent’s Birth Suites with 350 stockings for the babies born in December.
Dianne Guthrie, volunteer supervisor for UAB St. Vincent’s Birmingham, noted the individual quality of the creations. “Just like our precious babies, each stocking is unique. They are truly works of art,” Guthrie said.
The ministry was first led by Auxiliary volunteer Hilda Baker, who passed away in 2011 at age 95. Today, those involved acknowledge that Hilda Baker’s legacy lives on through the work of long-serving volunteers and newcomers.
“Miss Hilda would say, ‘If you think you have enough decorations on the stockings, add lots more,’” Guthrie recalled.
Tradition comes full circle
Volunteers Martha Ward and Paula Lucas are both retired St. Vincent’s birth suites nurses who saw first-hand the joy the stockings bring families each Christmas. When they retired, both former nurses knew they wanted to be a part of creating precious memories for families.
“I have had the great joy of handing these out to new moms and babies when I was a nurse,” said Ward. “Now to be on the other side of it, helping to create these gifts is just such a wonderful, full-circle moment.”
“It was such a pure joy to deliver these stockings to families over the years,” said Lucas. “There were many times we found out the babies’ mothers and grandmothers had also received a stocking from St. Vincent’s. I will cherish the Stocking Ministry for the rest of my life.”
Check out the photos below of UAB St. Vincent’s tiniest patients all dressed up for the holidays:
NOTE: UAB St. Vincent’s supports “Back-to-Sleep” and these infants were monitored during the photoshoot.