Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Summer is Over and the Holidays are Looming

Well, this week I finally had to accept the fact that summer's over. Everyone's back to school. And (believe it or not) the Holidays are right around the corner. I can't believe how fast time and my life are speeding by. Makes me wonder if homeless families are experiencing a slow down, wishing time would speed up, or a whirlwind like the rest of us.

One homeless mom is already thinking ahead. Earlier this week, she asked us to sponsor her and her teenage daughter for the holidays. Actually, it's not bad timing as we began working with holiday donors this week too.

The Cincinnati Chapter of UD Alumni had their first Christmas Off Campus planning meeting of the year. This is the ninth year of collaboration with this group of dedicated young professionals. On December 10th they will bring together 10-12 homeless families for an evening of food and festivities complete with a visit from Santa, and gifts purchased for each child from their own wish lists collected weeks in advance. It's truly a special moment for families that don't have the means to celebrate any other way.

We also submitted our projects to the Fidelity Investments Holiday Heroes program this week. These groups of employees threw parties (pic above), collected items, and provided gifts off the wish list for 42 children and several parents last year.

In total PC/FWP was able to find sponsors for 29 parents and 133 children last year. It's pretty amazing when you think about it. The wish lists are telling of the times the families are in. Of course some children ask for Wii systems (and don't get them), but most often it's the basics that are needed: sheets, kitchen items, clothing. And families are often moved to tears when they receive these gifts. So, although the joys of summer are past. . .there is more joy to come!

1 comment:

  1. Trish, if you could write-out a Christmas "Wish List" for Santa, what are the three top things that Faces without Places/Project Connect would ask for?

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