Operation Santa Claus and Adopt-A-Family Program
This
program needs volunteers and churches to serve as adoptive families
and adoptive churches and to assist administratively with enrollment
services each November.
Churches,
businesses, agencies, and individuals help provide holiday assistance
to families in need through two programs: Operation Santa Claus
and Adopt-A-Family.
Operation
Santa Claus is a program where children receive two toys of their
choice up to an approximate value of $70.
Adopt-A-Family
is a program for families to be adopted by churches or organizations
and are provided food, clothes and/or toys.
Last
year, over 969 children benefited from Operation Santa Claus and
250 families were adopted. These two programs offered a cash value
to the community of over $144,000.
Seasonal Assistance Programs Make A
Difference!
Over
the past several years The Operation Santa Claus & Adopt-A-Family
programs have helped many families in our community. There is
one family I would like to tell you about. This is just one story
of many, but one that is truly heartfelt and that has touched
several of us here in the office.
We met a lady that had been working with a Family & Children
Counselor for Homeless Prevention. This woman did not grow up
with much of a family life and was homeless. She did drugs heavily
and had no idea how to be a mother to her child. After working
with the counselor, she was starting to get her life on track.
She got off the drugs, found a home and was, for the first time,
able to be a real mother to her child.
The Counselor told her that she could go to Interfaith Community
Council to the Food Pantry for food, if needed. She did. Once
here, she was told about the two Christmas programs that were
available to her. We were able to get her child signed up for
Operation Santa Claus, and the two of them signed up for Adopt-A-Family.
Her family was adopted out for Thanksgiving with a food basket
and for Christmas, they received food, toys, clothing and a Basket
of Goodies for mom. She was very grateful that people would be
so kind.
After the Holidays, she sent in a Thank You note for all of our
tender loving care. She told us that this was the very best Christmas
that her child had ever had. She didn’t come in much through
the summer except to say “Hi!”, or just to let us know
how she was doing. But she did come in right before school started
to pick up one of the Back to School Backpacks. She said that
if it wasn’t for the counselor and the people at Interfaith
that she wouldn’t be where she is today.
