We Bring Out the Best in People

An email we received this morning:

Good Morning,

My family and I went to see the Christmas Carol this past Sunday.  It was a wonderful production.  As we all sat there watching the Cratchit Family and their struggles through the Christmas Holiday Season, it made us realize that there are young children out there who need help from those of us who are more fortunate.  My family has been a donor of Adopt-A-Family before; probably about (6) years ago.  It was an awesome feeling!

In light of this, after the show, we got together and decided to forego all Christmas Secret Santa Exchanges in favor of giving a family Christmas Gifts for their Children. 

I have attached the completed application. 

We still have 250 kids waiting for sponsors. Send an email to WoonsocketAdoptaFamily@gmail.com if you would like to help a family.

Thank you!

We Need Your Help

Here's the good news:

As of today we have 910 families with approximately 1,900 children matched with donors. That means these kids will be receiving gifts of much-needed clothing and much-desired toys and games for Christmas.

Here's the bad news:

We have approximately 315 kids in 125 families with no donors. 

After ten years of saying YES to every eligible family who applied, it looks like we will be saying NO to some children this year.

The number of families who have come to us for help has not increased significantly but the number of donors who have offered their help has decreased.

The amount of families asking for help will likely increase as we get closer to Distribution Week. Even though the last date to apply was November 15, we always have families in crisis come to us for help after a house fire, eviction, fleeing domestic abuse, illness, theft, etc. We always find a way.

We know everyone has been affected by the poor economy in the last year. So if you find it difficult to provide for a child on your own, team up with a co-worker, a neighbor, even others in your family. 

So our message is plain:  Please help by offering to provide some gifts of clothes and toys for a needy child. If you can help please fill out a Donor Reply Card and get it back to us as soon as possible.

A child will thank you.

We Still Need Donors

Over the last two months people from all over New England and beyond have contacted Adopt-a-Family offering help.  They have offered to take a wish list and use it to bring a bit of Christmas joy to a needy child.

These are children they will never know; children who will never know who their Secret Santa was.  What the people who give will know is that they made a child smile, squeal or laugh when they opened those gifts.

The gifts they ask for might be a Barbie, Spider Man, a remote-control car, a baby doll, Pokeman cards, Monopoly or arts and crafts. Or they might ask for something as basic as a coat or a pair of pajamas, or even a blanket and pillow.

It's Not Too Late to Adopt A Family

If you are interested in helping this year, you can print the Donor Reply Card from the link on the right, fill it out and send it back via email, fax or snail mail.  

We will get the information about your family out to you ASAP.

Our email address is: Adopt-a-Family, Inc.

You can also fax it to: (401)-489-7611

If you have any questions call us at (401) 766-2291

Calling All Elves

It's hard to believe that Adopt-a-Family's Distribution Week, December 8-14, is less than four weeks away! That's the time when gifts of toys and clothes for over 2,000 children come through our doors and then go out the same doors into the hands of needy families. It all happens in the Elks Lodge at 380 Social Street in Woonsocket, Rhode Island.

For many of us, the week is an annual reunion. If you have been a volunteer in the past you know how much fun we have. You have experienced the camaraderie and the wonderful feeling knowing we are helping bring smiles to so many children's faces.

This is a big job! It takes many volunteers to get it all done. During the week, through the hard work of more than 150 volunteers, over 4,000 bags, boxes and bikes are unloaded from donors' cars and trucks, logged in, warehoused, moved, moved again, checked out and then lugged out to the families. Then there is the job of feeding us all; feeding an army of more than 150 morning, noon and night for five days.

Who Asks for Our Help?

Our partner agency Family Resources Community Action began meeting with Woonsocket families asking for help on September 15. To date we have received approximately 850 applications. We have many children who we have no sponsors for at the moment. If you are interested in helping, please see the form on the left.

One important section of the application asks: Why do you need this help?

Some families simply say they can't afford to buy any Christmas gifts for their kids. But some go into detail.

Idaliz and Luis recently moved to Woonsocket with their two sons, ages 8 & 11, and daughter, age 5.  Their monthly income totals $1,385.  Their rent is $600 a month and doesn't include any utilities. By the time they pay their rent and utilities, it doesn't leave much for the rest of their bills and nothing for the holidays.

Arlina is a single mother with a son, age 5, and a daughter, 8. She moved into the homeless shelter to escape a domestic violence situation.  She's trying to get back on her feet.

We Can't Do It Without Our Donors

After she got the Wish List and information about her 'adopted family' a long-time donor sent an email thanking us for what we do.  When we reminded her that we can't do it without our donors, we got this message:

"Trust me - as soon as I received your email, I was filled the the meaning of Christmas. My family and I have been involved in the Woonsocket Adopt-a-Family for over 10 years. We are all in agreement that our participation in your program is what keeps our perspective for this holiday. It's our pleasure to participate."

We hear that same sentiment over and over again. We have always believed we serve two sides of the community; the obvious being the families in need but also people who want to DO something, often something personal.

Not everyone wants to write a check. Even though all charities need money, we also need people to be involved.

Thank you to all of our donors no matter how you support and help.

100+ Women Who Care Donate $10,000

At a meeting held in December, 100+ Women Who Care in Rhode Island, a philanthropic organization made up of just women, voted to give Adopt-a-Family, Inc. a donation of $10,000.

“We are a privately-funded program run by all volunteers. Being chosen to receive such a large donation was something we never expected and will help us continue our work long into the future,” said Sandra Soares, Executive Director of Adopt-a-Family.   “This is an amazing group of women who are dedicated to helping people in their own backyards, and we share their dedication to those in need.”

100+ Women Who Care in Rhode Island was founded early in 2012 and donates $10,000 quarterly to local charities. Other ‘‘Women Who Care’’ groups work in other states across the U.S.

A Job Well Done

Adopt-a-Family's Distribution Week started Sunday, December 9th and ended Saturday, December 15th.  During that week 2,112 children from 1,049 families received gifts of toys and clothes.  Working out of the Elks Lodge in Woonsocket from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. our 180 volunteers handled about 4,500 bags of gifts and hundreds of bikes.

In addition, during the week these families in crisis came to us for help: 

1.    A mom with two children who was a victim of domestic violence walked in.  She had fled an abusive situation and left everything behind.

2.   A single dad with two kids, 4 & 7, had a fire in their apartment and lost everything, Christmas gifts included.

3.   Six kids had recently moved into the homeless shelter and had nothing.

4.   26 kids in Woonsocket programs who hadn't qualified for our program but were in need.

All of these families were taken in and given new clothes and toys from our warehouse.

To learn more about the happy events that took place and photos from the week, visit the Woonsocket Patch.

We thank all of our donors and hardworking volunteers for making the year a success.