Outreach in Action

In the spirit of giving, help us help the community with Secret Santa and holiday food collections

by Jo Mayer and Paul Crandall

Outreach asks that Secret Santa donors wrap gifts (if possible) for their assigned families, label them, and deliver to Outreach no later than Friday December 16, by 3:00 pm. Photo by freestocks on Unsplash.com

The change of season is everywhere upon us, which means “Secret Santa” time at Stockbridge Community Outreach will soon be here.

Every family who signed up for assistance through the program over the past two years was adopted by a community member, church, business or community organization—averaging around 100 families each year.

Secret Santa program details

For those who need assistance, enrollment in this year’s program will run from October 31 to November 28 and is handled in person. (Please call 517-851-7285 to schedule an appointment.) Applicants will be asked for proof of residency and income and, upon verification, will complete a wish list for each member of the family. A completed application enrolls a family in both the Thanksgiving and Christmas Programs, if desired.

Secret Santa recipients are matched with donors each year through an anonymous process and multi-year donors and recipients may or may not be matched together from year to year. This year, donors should sign up by Friday December 2.

Asked what Outreach needs for the holidays, Director Gwen Reid did not hesitate: “The most important thing is that every family be adopted!”

She added that families range in size from 1 to as many as 12, and donors can choose the size of family that fits their budget.

“A good rule of thumb is about $100 per adopted family member, but each donor must decide that for themselves, and some wish lists may have only one or two items,” Reid said.

All applicants are screened for residency and income to ensure any adopted individual or family is a member of our community and is in need.

Reid noted that the most popular adoption request is for a family with young children, but often the most grateful family is made up of only one or two adults who haven’t had a Christmas, or even new things, in years.

“They come in with tears in their eyes to thank us for the new coat or pair of shoes they received and are proudly wearing,” Reid said.

Secret Santa deadline

For those interested in adopting a family, please contact the Outreach office by calling 517-851-7285 or emailing outreach49285@gmail.com. Outreach asks that gifts be wrapped if possible, labeled, and delivered to Outreach no later than Friday December 16, by 3:00 pm.

Holiday food basket details

Outreach food donations for Thanksgiving should be delivered to Outreach by November 18. For Christmas foods, the deadline is December 19. Photo by Ismael Paramo on Unsplash.com

Another need presenting itself this time of year at Outreach is food for holiday baskets. Strong church, school and community support throughout the years has helped fill these baskets. They are assembled and distributed via Outreach and provide a variety of good food for families in need.

“I was awestruck by the amount of food the high school students brought over for last year’s Thanksgiving,” Reid said. “Their donations included turkeys, towers of cans and boxes, and even money so we could buy what we still might need. Thanks to their efforts and those of others, we only had to buy some turkeys, gravy and condensed milk to round out our food baskets.”

For those interested in donating, items being collected include: canned yams, cranberry sauce, potato flakes, gravy, turkeys for Thanksgiving, hams for Christmas, canned pie fruit, evaporated milk, canned fruit cocktail, cream of mushroom soup, and jello. Please let Outreach know if you are doing a food drive (or any other kind of Outreach-related drive) so they know to expect a donation from you!

Holiday food basket deadlines

For those who plan to donate food to this program in time for Thanksgiving, the deadline for delivery to Outreach is November 18. For Christmas foods, the deadline is December 19.

A word about clothing donations

Due to Christmas preparations, Outreach is unable to accept used clothing donations from November 18 to January 9, 2023, except for winter outerwear (coats, boots, gloves, hats, mittens, etc.). Please hold your used clothing donations until January. Thank you for your patience, understanding, and support!

This column is sponsored by Stockbridge Community Outreach, our local food pantry, crisis, and referral center located in the Stockbridge Activity Center (old middle school) near Cherry and Elm Streets in Stockbridge. Office hours are 1-3pm, Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and by appointment. Outreach49285@gmail.com, 517-851-7285, or find us on Facebook.