The twelve holy apostles are celebrated because they worked with Jesus to spread the word of the lord, even to people living in countries that were far from the holy land.

The same can be said about the men and women of Saint Andrew's Children's Clinic, who dedicate significant portions of their lives to doing God’s work for people who, in some cases, live hundreds of miles away.

The volunteers at the St. Andrew's Garden of the Twelve Apostles, which is really just a simple concrete fenced-off area, may not all be Catholics or Episcopalians, or even Christians, but they join together to reach out and help people.

“I don’t do it for religious reasons,” said volunteer Amanda Alday from Rio Rico. “The American ladies over there are from this church, I am not, but I like to help.” Alday has been coming back once a month for the past five years, because she said she loves to see the smiles on the children’s faces.

“I like helping the children, the Mexican people, the sick people, low-income people. I feel sorry for them,” she said. The Garden of Twelve Holy Apostles at Saint Andrew's Clinic is a center for children to pick up free toys, clothing and food.

Like many of the other volunteers, Alday goes beyond the first-Thursday-of-every-month schedule, and knits blankets and covers for the St. Andrew's babies in her spare time. Many women create their own hats and scarves to give out to the kids, some going so far as to make a different afghan sweater every week. A woman that prefers to be referred to as Joan, takes sweatshirts and makes jackets out of them.

The women sew together, but also alone in their cars and when they have time between work and taking care of their own children.

“This is one of those things that really needs to be done. We watch some of the children come in this big," said volunteer Dottie Gutwein gesturing with her hand. "And we watch them growing and growing. We get all kinds of hugs. It’s just fantastic. We really enjoy it. We just think of the kids as ours.”

Although the volunteers donate much of their time, hundreds of unseen faces help behind the scenes donating clothing and toys from yard sales and hand-me-downs. Supermarkets also ship perishable and non-perishable foods in trucks to St. Andrew's, so that the volunteers can sort them into bags early in the morning.

“It’s a lot of work and involves a lot of people,” Alday said. But the children are worth it, and keep some volunteers coming back every month -- many for a decade or more.

“It’s something that is a service to the folks that need it,” Gutwein said. “And seeing the kids, you see them before and after their prosthetics or operations, and it’s really amazing.”


Click here to watch a Nogales boy venture through the garden.



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