I would like to adopt a family for christmas this year or thanksgiving. I really don't need anything and neither does my husband so I want to help others.
I did a search on some past posts and found to check Churches and the Salvation Army. I will continue to look.
Does anyone have any other suggestions?
there's an awesome program called project night night that will give children in homeless shelters a stuffed animal, book, and blanket in a bag. I've given to them the last couple of years.
You can give money, 20 dollars sends a bag to a child, or the items that fill the bag, books, stuffed animals, blankets, etc.
I used to teach at an inner city school & my parents used to buy gifts for the children in my classroom.
We do that too - have you checked the local paper?
Oh, and here's one
J.,
God bless you and your husband for wanting to help others through the holiday time.
I have contacted school counsellors for suggestions. They know families who are in desperate need. It's all confidential. I gave what we donated to the her and she delivered it to the family. You might also think about the Ronald McDonald houses. I can't imagine having to deal with a very sick kid during the holiday.
Again, thanks for making my evening and expressing the true meaning of Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Blessings!
L.
The human services department in my town does adopt a family. Check your town to see if they have a family that needs help.
We do that every year with our kids.
Via a local social services organization in my city.
We also one year.... made a big box of food/diapers/towels/can opener/bottled water/lawn mats/outgrown baby & toddler & adult clothing/soap, etc. And went to a park here locally where many homeless families live out of their car in or under make-shift tarps.
Anyway, we found a family with 2 little kids. We observed them first from afar, to make sure they were "safe." We then went and gave them the box we had made. It was for Thanksgiving.
They were happy.
My kids, loved doing that.
Although, it can be a dicey situation. But it was not a "ghetto" dangerous type area. Just at a public park here. Anyway, there are many homeless kids/families here. So that is why we did that.
Most churches will have a family or families to help. You may also contact your children's school and see if there is any program (like here we have Linkages to Learning) where you can help children in your community. You can also look for opportunities through local businesses. Take a few ornaments from a Giving/Angel Tree. Give soup kitchens money for meals. Donate to charities like Child's Play so that kids in hospitals over the holidays have some cheer. Donate to groups like Sleeping Children Around the World so that children in other countries have basic supplies for school and a bed kit. Etc.
There are local Adopt A Family programs you can look into in your area (especially for Christmas).
Other options would be to check with a local shelter or you can prepare meal boxes and deliver to a local food pantry.
We do this every year!
Usually the church gives us the name of a family in need if holiday help,
Some years we've purchased gifts and given money.
Last year "our family" was a single mom with 2 middle school aged girls so we gave money early enough so mom could shop for gifts for the girls and holiday food.
ETA: also checkout Samaritans Purse (www.samaritanspurse.org) for Operation Christmas Child. They send packed shoeboxes around the world ( and locally too ) to needy kids.
Relatives who need help in your own family.
Call your local child welfare agency. They often have a family they are working with that has been reunited or is working on that and very close. The parents often don't have the means to supply gifts for their kids so the agency will select this family to be their "family" for donations.
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Call your local child welfare agency. They often have a family they are working with that has been reunited or is working on that and very close. The parents often don't have the means to supply gifts for their kids so the agency will select this family to be their "family" for donations.
You could also check with your local United Way or a local school. A women's shelter or homeless shelter might also be a good place to check. If you have a local Ronald McDonald House or similar places like a transplant house or place for cancer patients to stay they would be good places to check too.
Also, check women's shelters.
So very nice of you!!!
Another option is to check with your local fire department. They often have families you can adopt or help, or have toy drives. Some of our local fire stations have toy drives for needy families.
Good for you for wanting to help!
My office does this through our local Child Crisis Center.
We've done that through the church and also Goodwill, though the Goodwill find was not expected. It's a wonderful thing to do!
Contact a local domestic violence or homeless shelter. The families who live there need all the help they can get. They may not need food because they live in a shelter but they will need clothing, especially one nice outfit they can wear for job interviews.
ETA:
Be sure to include a gift receit for the clothing in case it doesn't fit.
