When Barbara Holmes and her husband were approached by a friend after Mass at Our Lady of Loreto, they were invited to become volunteers at Catholic Charities Marisol Family. “Someone approached my husband and me and said, ‘would you like to serve at Marisol?’ We said sure – what is it?” Barbara recalled.
Marisol Homes, a ministry of Catholic Charities, is a shelter for women and their children that provides safe, secure emergency and extended-stay housing for pregnant women and single mothers with children. Families receive maternity care, case management, child care support and a welcoming community as they work toward stability. Residents participate in classes ranging from prenatal support to job skills and financial literacy and even after they move into permanent housing, Marisol Homes continues to walk alongside them with ongoing support.
The first event Barbara and her husband attended was their 2024 Christmas party. Before attending, she asked the team for the names of the new babies who lived at Marisol. That simple detail inspired her to offer something personal. “I make baby blankets out of flannel and I match them together and I embroidered the children’s name.”
When the celebration arrived, Barbara handed each mother a personalized blanket. Their reactions left a deep impression. “All the mothers when I gave it to them, they started crying seeing their child’s name imprint. It warmed my heart to know that I could make a difference in one person’s life and let them know that they are a beloved child of God.”
Encouraged by her first experience, Barbara returned the following year. She reached out again to see how she could help. “I contacted Brianna and I said are there any new babies? She said we got five of them. I said I want to make blankets and she said would you? Thank you so much.” Among the babies this year was a set of twins — a project Barbara embraced with joy.
She chooses each fabric thoughtfully to personalize the blankets for every child. During the 2025 holiday celebration, one of the babies, Nicholas, stood out. “Nicholas is a Christmas baby. We’ve got Christmas fabric for Nicholas… with a name like Nicholas he’s a December baby.”
For Barbara, the blankets are more than handmade gifts. “We can bring joy to people’s life in the most in the simplest way,” she said. “And we can make such a difference by doing a small little act of kindness.
This practice began long before she started serving at Catholic Charities Marisol Homes. “I’ve been doing it — it started before COVID actually like so many things — and I’m of the age where a lot of my friends have kids who started having grandbabies,” she said. She even makes blankets for grandparents so that “when the baby comes to visit they can have it.”
Barbara and her husband are members of Legatus, which she described as “the Catholic organization for business people who bring Christ into the workplace.” Their faith and community involvement strengthen their commitment to service.
Above all, Barbara sees her work as part of a greater calling. “Having a servant’s heart brings so much joy to the other person and to you and that’s what we’re called,” she said. “We’re called to serve and to give without counting the cost… we are called as humans to serve one another.”