From the desk of Sandy Soares

Distribution Week of Adopt-a-Family 2009 is finished. Here are the stats of what we accomplished:

2,311 children in 1,118 families received gifts of toys and clothes

Beginning last Sunday afternoon and wrapping up this morning, many of us devoted 55+ hours this week to pull it all together. I’d like to acknowledge each of the members of the Board of Directors and thank them for their incredible dedication to this very special program.

Pauline Belisle, 2009 President, for her incredible work in coordinating and preparing gifts for 250+ children we did not have donors for. Pauline devoted nearly 12 hours a day to this effort to make sure that no eligible child was turned away this year.

Cathy Savage, 2009 Vice President, who spent 12 hours a day working in the warehouse organizing and sorting the nearly 4,500 bags and boxes of gifts.

Debbie Mitchell, 2009 Treasurer, who shopped, wrapped, tagged and bagged gifts for 45 children prior to Distribution Week. Debbie also spent many hours with us this week working in Santa’s Workshop.

Bobbie Aubin who worked in Santa's Workshop pulling together appropriate toys and clothes for the children without donors.

Bev Denis who prior to Distribution Week spent hours contacting and organizing the seven-day schedule of nearly 200 volunteers. Bev was also with us every day meeting and greeting the volunteers and filling in anywhere an extra hand was needed.

Pat Dubois who worked in Santa’s Workshop sorting and wrapping for the children without donors.

Diane Fregeau for all the hours spent weeks and months before Distribution Week seeking out many of the toys and clothes purchased in anticipation of the need to provide for children without donors.

Joan Powers who worked greeting donors, cataloging the hundreds of bags and pitching in wherever help was needed.

Rhea Powers our Kitchen Elf Extraordinaire who kept our bellies full with hot soup, sandwiches, salads, casseroles, hot cider and warm cookies and coordinated the many donations of food. There were always pots of coffee, tea and hot chocolate available. On several evenings Rhea and her ‘staff’ fed nearly 50 volunteers a hot meal. If it’s true that an army marches on its stomach, Rhea is our General.

Sue Rennie who spent hours day after day often standing in the cold meeting and verifying the 1000+ parents of the children helping us be sure that the right gifts went to the right families.

Deana Robidoux for all the hours spent weeks and months before Distribution Week seeking out the many toys and clothes purchased in anticipation of the need to provide for children without donors.

Tina Stothard for her help in shopping for the families without donors and time spent in Santa’s Warehouse.

Brenda Viscione for her hours wrapping, tagging and bagging gifts in Santa's Workshop.

Julie Wunderlich who brought us many new donors and student volunteers from Mt. St. Charles Academy. Julie also worked along side Pauline all week sorting and inventorying Santa’s Workshop.

Gail Zak for her months of savvy shopping and work this week in Santa’s Workshop sorting through our inventory to organize gifts for the children without donors.

Janice Geddes for hours spent on the telephone making hundreds of calls to families giving them the good news that their children’s gifts were ready.

For many of us, Distribution Week is an annual reunion when we catch up on good news and sometimes bad news of the year. As I watched the comings and goings of everyone I saw husbands, children, grandchildren, brothers, sisters and friends of so many of us who were all working hard but having a wonderful time. I also saw several past board members and hopefully some future as well.

There are so many whose names I would love to mention but won't for fear of missing someone. The one exception I will make is to thank our friend Joe "Santa" Lynch for his incredible effort to volunteer. Joe arrived under the most difficult of circumstances and brought several of his 'boys' who stood for hours each night in the frigid cold helping donors drop off and recipients pick up gifts. I wrote about Joe earlier this year and his extreme generosity of spirit and kind efforts on our behalf.

I also want to mention our friends at Woonsocket Elks Lodge #850 for their kindness and support of our program. Daily they dropped in to watch us in action and to ask if there was anything we needed. This was our third year in their building, and we still count our blessings that we found such a perfect location to call home.

I think I can speak for each and everyone who was there this week when I say I am glad to have been there to see it all come together but I am also glad it's over for another year.

Helping to Feed Rhode Island's Hungry Children

Adopt-A-Family, Inc., is proud to sponsor its 2nd Annual Food Drive for the Rhode Island Community Food Bank. The Food Bank provides food assistance to food pantries, meal sites & shelters throughout Northern Rhode Island. Over the last year the Food Bank saw a record distribution of 9.5 million pounds of food, a 15% increase over last year.

If you would like to help, please bring a canned or non-perishable food item and drop it off in one of the bins that will be available during Distribution Week, December 13-19, 2009 at Elks Lodge #850, 380 Social Street, Woonsocket, Rhode Island.

Fidelity Investments Employees Help Out Once Again

Employee volunteers from Fidelity Investments’ Smithfield, Rhode Island offices collected toys and clothes to donate to Adopt-a-Family, Inc. Roughly 1,000 employees donated the items this year, which will benefit 250 children from 104 Woonsocket families.

More than 100 giant Santa sacks filled with new clothes, toys and games, as well as new bicycles, will be loaded onto a delivery truck bound for the Woonsocket program’s drop-off site on Tuesday, December 15, 2009.

Always one of the largest group donors to the program, this is the eleventh year Fidelity Investments has participated in the program.

Adopt-a-Family Pulls It Off Again!

For the 7th year in a row, no eligible family in need will be turned away from Woonsocket's Adopt-a-Family.

Despite serious concern just a week ago that families were going to be turned away, as of Monday, December 7, the Board of Directors agreed to provide for all eligible families who applied.

Although not every family will be sponsored by an outside donor, every child will receive a bag of gifts including clothing and toys.

On Tuesday, letters to 1,118 families with 2,310 children will be going out advising them of their acceptance into the program. Each of these children will benefit from this local charity now in its 27th year of providing for needy children in Woonsocket.

After almost daily updates to board members by Program Coordinator Sandra Soares, on Saturday an email went out telling them that the number of children without donors was down to 302 from 590 only four days earlier!

In those four days, telephone messages and emails kept coming in from people wanting to help. Matching continued daily and wish lists were going via email, regular mail and fax. That response brought the number of children still in need down to a manageable number for the Board to commit to providing for with or without donors.

Those 302 children in 176 families will be taken care of with funds from the program's treasury. The funds come from donors who often can't commit to shopping for a family but still want to support the program. And often donors will send a check in addition to adopting a few children.

"I had tears in my eyes when I read that email," said long-time Board member Rhea Powers. "We can certainly handle that many children," said President Pauline Belisle, "that's not many more than we provided for last year." In 2008, 245 children had no sponsors but in the eleventh hour during their Distribution Week, volunteers shopped, wrapped & tagged so that no one was disappointed.

"After six years of being able to say YES to everyone, it was going to be a difficult decision to have to turn some families away this year, we are thrilled that we won't have to", said Program Coordinator Soares.

Although it's too late to adopt, if you would still like to help, you can make a donation to Adopt-a-Family, Inc., P.O. Box 7665, Cumberland, RI 02864. AAF is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization and all donations are tax deductible as allowed by law.

The Valley Breeze

December 3, 2009

Adopt-A-Family still in need of family sponsors, gift donors

WOONSOCKET - It's an annual worry.

The 27-year-old Woonsocket Adopt-A-Family program is heading into its final adoption week far short of the number of donors needed to provide Christmas for all of the city's needy families.

As of last Friday, according to the group's secretary, Sandra Soares, while 807 families with about 1,700 children will be provided for this Christmas, another 279 families, representing 600 children, had no sponsors.

While other years have seen last-minute donors carry the day for all, she's not so sure that will happen this year.

The number who've agreed to help out is down substantially, she said, with many mentioning the economy is squeezing too tightly.

Adopt-A-Family faces the prospect of not being able to provide for every child for the first time in five years, she said.

She noted that one-third of Woonsocket children under the age of 6 are living in poverty.

The date for families to register for gifts has passed, but the organization is still welcoming the names the individuals and organizations willing to help out.

This organization, which works directly with Woonsocket's Family Resources Community Action Program to compile a list of the city's needy, makes the point that its recipients have no other sources for assistance this holiday.

President of the board of Adopt-A-Family this year is Pauline Belisle. Catherine Savage is vice president and Debra Mitchell is treasurer.

Those who agree to provide presents, says Soares, are providing everything that will appear under that family's tree.

Donors are asked to buy three to four clothing items and two to three toys for each child, about a $125 to $150 per child.

Generally, about $350,000 in goods is donated each year to the needy families along with another $20,00 in cash donations that are used to fill in shopping lists as needed.
Soares notes the number of recipients registering this year is about the same as last year, but the list includes more who describe themselves as "working poor."

There are also more grandparents who've taken over the rearing of grandchildren and more women who've mentioned domestic abuse restraining orders against children's fathers.

Donor are needed immediately; gifts are distributed during the week of Dec. 14.

To help out, call 766-2291 or e-mail adoptafamily@cox.net.

To read the article online go here.

The Garlic Connection Raises Money for Adopt-a-Family, Inc.

On Tuesday, December 1, a check for $500 was donated to Adopt-a-Family by The Garlic Connection, a group of Elks from Woonsocket Lodge #850. The money was raised at a recent Porketta held at the Lodge to benefit Adopt-a-Family.

The people in the photo are from left to right:

Ronald Heroux of The Garlic Connection; Pauline Belisle, President of Adopt-a-Family; Richard Gagne, Exalted Ruler of Woonsocket Elks Lodge #850; Catherine Savage, Vice President of Adopt-a-Family.