Dear Charity Crossing Members,
A huge thank you for your support and participation in the Adopt-a-Family program we launched this year. We had 3 major Holiday Giveaway Events at Wilmington, Newark, and Middletown along with New Castle County Police. All of them were a great success in helping so many families in need.
We included the Adopt-a-Family flyer at these events and spread the message over our website and social media. It allowed families to place requests for gifts, which were then reviewed and shipped to the right addresses. This year, CC received more than 100 requests and processed 73 of them.
The program has brought holiday cheer to so many families, and we couldn’t have done it without your support. Here are some thank you notes of gratitude from families who benefited and feedback from our youth volunteers who were actively involved.
Write-ups from Youth Co-Leads:
Ashika AnilKumar:
Working as part of the youth team on Charity Crossing’s holiday drive has been a very meaningful experience. It has given us insight into how much really goes into making the holiday season truly enjoyable for everyone. As a youth leader, I had to reach out to different people asking if they wished to be a part of this initiative and if they could contribute in some way. I was able to get our apartment community, with around 300 houses, to participate, by creating flyers, actively spreading the word, and collaborating with the apartment management to set up bins. A lot of people stepped up and donated things like canned food and winter wear, and it was very heartwarming to see the entire community act one at a time like this. Additionally, we had support from stores like Macy’s. The donations we got from such stores had to be sorted through and arranged into the right categories. We spent time going through lists and crossing off the things that went into each category. Once this was done, the boxes were labeled and ready to be taken to distribution events.
The distribution events are the most rewarding part of the experience because you get to see how much of a difference your efforts are making when you interact with the people who come to these events and benefit from them. I especially enjoyed these events because it gave me the chance to meet other students and volunteers, who brought high energy and such keenness to help. It was extremely nice to see everyone working together for setup, cleanup, and everything in between.
The Adopt a Family program this year has also been a great success. The program allows families to place requests for gifts, which are then reviewed and shipped to the right addresses. This year, CC received about 100 requests and processed and ordered about 73 of them. The program has brought holiday cheer to so many families, and we as volunteers are lucky to have been able to help by creating the flyers and once again spreading the word to people at our events and on social media.
Overall, the holiday drive has been a very memorable one for all of us and continues to impact us in our daily lives as one of the biggest teaching experiences. Through this drive, I learned about values such as leadership, communication, and community, which I will carry with me throughout.
Shil Shah:
I am one of the co-leads for the Charity Crossing Holiday Drive. Charity Crossing held an Adopt-A-Family to help people less fortunate. We don’t always realize it but there are so many people who don’t get anything for the Holidays because they can’t afford it. That is why we are doing the Adopt-A-Family. We have received about 100 requests and about 73 families got gifts this year that normally don’t.
The other co-leads and I started sorting donations we had gotten, from August. At the time, there were about 300 prom dresses and about 400 dresses for girls, along with formal coats and pants for boys. We sorted those based on size and what season they were meant to be worn in. After sorting those we donated about half to some local schools that had requested some things.
We also made flyers for all the events. I had reached out to a lot of people for donations and got a lot of clothes which we also gave out to people.
The Holiday Drive also had 3 different Holiday Events where we distributed the rest of the dresses and boy’s formal wear. We also gave out hygiene supplies, toys, socks, masks, household supplies, and food boxes. I am so happy that I got to help a lot of people. They were all so grateful and that made me ecstatic. I loving giving to other people and seeing the smiles on each of their faces. One lady even came up to me and some of the other volunteers and thanked us for dedicating our time to help people in need.
Overall, it was a great experience and I enjoyed helping people and seeing a smile on their faces. I am very happy that I made an impact.
Adithi Jonnagadla:
During the holidays, it is time to be with family. Due to this hard and trying year, many families missed out on the holiday bliss. However, due to Charity Crossing’s Adopt-a-Family initiative, we were able to spread joy to the community. Charity Crossing received 100 requests for this program. After fulfilling 76 of these requests, we received many pictures of people opening presents and many heartfelt stories about the joy this program brought families during these uncertain times. At the Holiday Dress Giveaway events, many of us were able to talk to the people coming to these events and create a connection with them. One man who came to this giveaway told us a story about how his entire family lost all their jobs due to this pandemic. He told us how much cheer these dresses would bring his family since none of their kids had gotten new clothes since the beginning of the year. His story touched all of us volunteers and made us ecstatic to be giving back to the community and being able to help families like his. There were so many more people who came up to us at the event thanking us for this opportunity for them and sharing stories. The two events of the Holiday Dress Giveaway that I participated in opened my eyes up to see actually how many people this organization touches. As a co-lead for the holiday drive, we had to reach out to people to make them aware of this event and collect donations from them. Reaching out to many people taught all of us important lessons such as communication and being grateful for what we have. Overall, this was a very rewarding experience for me and the other co-leads as it taught us many imperative life lessons and opened our eyes to the community.
Nithila Chrisostam:
I am immensely glad that this year’s Adopt-a-Family program was a success. When I was first contacted about the program, I thought it was a fantastic idea- The holiday season is, after all, the time of giving. I felt that this year especially gave to a heightened sense of disconnection. Families were torn apart this year. Our lives turned upside down. I wanted to help give people a new chance at this new life, or at least provide a shred of normalcy and generosity in this otherwise disarrayed and unfortunate time.
Creating the flyer came easily to me, which doesn’t usually happen! I always end up taking hours just brainstorming, but this time, I had a clear plan from the beginning. I drew most of my inspiration from conventional holiday colors and flyer templates- Just to draw from tradition, and reminisce past holiday eras.
Making this flyer, and also contributing to donation events really made me feel more connected to my community. In a time where it’s hard to say what’s going on at all times. Seeing the joy, we were able to help people really grounded me.
I felt it even more on Christmas morning. Opening presents was a bittersweet feeling. I got my gifts and felt, “How many people this year will be able to feel the same happiness I do now?” I’m blessed to have all of my family with me, and I’m thankfully able to live comfortably. But I know not everyone is able to feel this comfort as well.
Thus, I’m endlessly glad that, through CC’s Adopt-a-Family program, we could have brought at least one child or one family, a happy, almost normal, holiday season. I hope that, in the coming years, we can reach and help more people, and give them the happy holidays they deserve.
