SKANEATELES - Central New York regularly plays host to refugees from many third-world nations.

In the past decade, numerous families from Burma, Sudan and other war-ravaged, impoverished countries have relocated to the area, according to Kitty Spinelli, St. Mary of the Lake Catholic Church member.

And St. Mary's is doing more than its share in providing aid to those refugee families.

Through the end of April, Human Development, a St. Mary's committee that organizes programs to assist charitable organizations, is working with the Syracuse chapter of Catholic Charities USA to purchase dozens of twin mattresses.

“Syracuse has seen a lot of refugees come from Burma in the past year or so,” said Spinelli, who is a member of the Human Development committee.

Many of the refugees have large families with a lot of children, she continued.

“One of (Catholic Charities') requirements is that each child has his or her own mattress, so they need a lot of twin mattresses. ... They don't get many donations of that size, so our committee decided to purchase some,” she explained.

So far, Human Development has raised funds to purchase about 10 mattresses, but Spinelli said the committee hopes to receive enough donations to purchase dozens more.

“We're hoping to be able to get as many as 30 by the end of the month,” she said.

After the funds are raised, Spinelli said the church will contribute the money to Catholic Charities, which has an arrangement with a local furniture store that allows the organization to purchase items at a discount.

Last fall, the committee organized a program to provide about 100 backpacks for needy area children, Spinelli said.

“This mattress program is kind of a continuation of that,” she said.

How to help

To donate to St. Mary of the Lake Church's Human Development program, contact the church at 685-5083.