Under the leadership of Vice President Allison Steffaro, the Fellowship of Orthodox Christians in America (FOCA) has been fulfilling the St. Nicholas Wish Lists of married seminary students since 2000. In the spirit of St. Nicholas, the FOCA has been matching chapters/parishes from all over the country with seminary families from both St. Vladimir's St. Tikhon's Orthodox Theological Seminary to make their wishes come true during the Nativity season. Items from the families' wish lists ranged from gift cards to local grocery, gas stations and other stores, needed clothing or household goods, school supplies for the seminarians, and of course, gifts for the children.
This project is just one of the ways in which the FOCA supports the seminaries of the Orthodox Church in America. In addition to the St. Nicholas Wish List Program, their Adopt-a-Seminarian Program has provided financial assistance to struggling married students on a monthly basis, since 2002. In addition to educational scholarship available to seminary students, these projects are designed to relieve some of the financial burden placed on students while in seminary. In this way, the FOCA sets out to recognize the sacrifice of those who are answering a call to become the future spiritual leaders of our Orthodox Church.
