Gabbie Snyder and Gail Roessler have turned their pain into a positive over the past nine years.
When their sister Gerri Garofalo, a 1968 alumna of Archbishop Wood High School in Warminster, passed away in 2017 they wanted to honor her memory and ensure her legacy would continue to benefit students at Wood.
Garofalo not only attended Wood, she taught world cultures, sociology and psychology at the school during her almost 40-year career. She also coached the softball and swimming teams while she was a student at La Salle University.
In addition to teaching, Garofalo was actively involved in extracurricular programs, and she initiated a talent show and organized a fundraising marathon to raise money for neonatal incubators at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. She also moderated student council and organized annual Red Cross blood drives at the school.
While a student at Wood, Garofalo started a band that played at weddings, parties and fundraising events. She sang and played the accordion and later learned the keyboard.
“She was at the front of the line for everything,” said Snyder, a 1971 Wood alumna. “She was musical and athletic, and she was studious and very involved in school.”
Snyder and Roessler established the Gerri Garofalo Memorial Scholarship Fund after their sister’s passing. A $2,500 scholarship is given to a rising senior every year. Recently, an anonymous donor has matched the donation so that two rising seniors receive financial assistance.
To raise funds for the scholarship, the sisters work throughout the year making handmade Santa dolls out of Catholic school uniform material.
Snyder explained that the idea for the dolls came from a friend who sewed them with country-style fabric but said they also could be made with wool material.
That is when Snyder realized she could make one out of her old school uniform as a gift for her big sister.
“We used to tease Gerri that she was like Miss Archbishop Wood,” she said. “So we made one for Gerri first as a joke, then we thought, ‘This is pretty cool.’”
Those who saw the uniform Santa agreed it was a novel idea.
“Other people said, ‘Oh, wow, I would love to have one of them, especially since it’s made out of your uniform,’” Snyder added.
Given the favorable response to the uniform Santas, Snyder and Roessler decided to make and sell Santas to raise the money for the scholarship fund. Roessler does most of the sewing, and Snyder puts the finishing touches on the dolls.
Although it’s summertime, the sisters are preparing for the upcoming Christmas season. They sell most of the Santa dolls at Archbishop Wood’s annual craft show which will be held Nov. 20-21 at the school.
The dolls are sold for $30 each, and all proceeds go toward supporting students through the Gerri Garofalo Scholarship Fund at Archbishop Wood.
With a uniform donation, Santas are $15 for the first one purchased. Additional Santas are $30 each.
“We try to raise the $2,500 with our Santa project at the craft show every year,” Roessler said. “That’s a lot of Santas.”
The sisters have made dolls from uniform material from Archbishop Wood, Gwynedd Mercy Academy, Lansdale Catholic High School, St. Basil’s Academy, and other Catholic elementary and high schools in Bucks and Montgomery counties.
To provide a variety of school Santas and keep their costs down, they request donations of old uniforms. Although it has been challenging to get uniforms from Philadelphia Catholic high schools, the pair continue to ask for donations through Archbishop Wood’s Facebook pages.
The scholarship fund has helped approximately 20 students since 2018, according to Roessler, a 1975 Wood alumna.
Selling the dolls also gives Roessler and Snyder the opportunity to hear many stories about the impact their oldest sister had on her students.
“We’re thrilled at the response we have gotten at the craft show,” Snyder said. “We enjoy hearing from the girls who come up and say how much they loved Miss Garofalo, how much fun her classes were, how much they loved her storytelling, and how much she influenced their lives.”
Roessler is grateful that people are supporting their efforts to keep Gerri’s memory alive.
“It’s endearing that she meant so much to them that they’re willing to get a Santa to bring back memories of their school days and how special she was to them,” she said. “It’s really been eye opening.”
Snyder and Roessler are confident that Gerri would appreciate what they are doing to further her legacy at Archbishop Wood.
“She would be really humbled by the response we’ve gotten with our Santa project,” Roessler said.
“She would be thrilled to know how many people we have connected with because of her,” Snyder added. “She was a good sister, and she loved what she did.”
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To place an order or donate a uniform, contact Gabbie (Garofalo) Snyder at dngsnyder1@verizon.net or Gail (Garofalo) Roessler at ggroessler@verizon.net.
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