Holiday Adopt-a-Family Program
The Family Promise of Warren County (FPWC) Adopt-A-Family Holiday program is always seeking sponsors to help make the holiday season a happier one for the children and families we serve. It is also our way to keep connected to former guests and clients so that we can continue to provide wraparound services and ensure their success. The Adopt-A-Family Holiday program anonymously matches sponsors to families with children and if possible individuals with disabilities. In 2018, the Holiday Adopt-A-Family program reached record numbers. It helped 155 individual FPWC clients, including families and some individuals. The calculated value of the gifts totaled $16,875.00. And that was with only eight participating adopters, including some IHN shelter program volunteers, volunteers from the community at large, and local churches.
Each year, the agency facilitates the collection of presents for families and individuals who cannot afford to buy holiday gifts for their children and other family members. Identified families are first and foremost, the current and former IHN shelter program clients, but we extended the program to include some of our rapid re-housing and homeless prevention program families as well. They continue to endure a lack of affordable and living wage jobs, so help is needed, especially during the holiday season. FPWC staff identifies clients who need assistance and ask them to compile a gift shopping list based on their family’s needs, sizes and preferences along with a release of information form for our use (full client names are not provided to gift donors to respect our clients’ confidentiality). At this point, participating adopters are given client(s) shopping lists and they then generously purchase presents for their adoptee(s) off of the list they are given.
When all families are shopped for, adopters drop off gifts for their adoptees to the Family Promise Day Center. Once all are collected, program managers distribute them to the clients. This program can lift people’s spirits. Those interested in adopting will be matched with a wish list of things the individual enjoys, needs, or would appreciate, as well as clothing preferences and sizes, will be provided.
This is a non-funded program and Family Promise of Warren County thanks those adopters and volunteers who charitably participated and donated as part of 2018’s Holiday Adopt-a-Family program. For more information on how you can get involved with Family Promise of Warren County Adopt-A-Family program in the coming year, please contact Housing Stability Case Manager Rachel Opdyke, via email at rachel@wcihn.org.