Making Christmas a special time
Adopt-a-family program in need of sponsors
Unfortunately at this time of year there are families living in fear that on Christmas morning their children will have no gifts under the tree.
Luckily, there are individuals and groups who dream about helping such families.
Both groups are brought together through the work of the adopt-a-family program at the Every Woman’s Centre in Sydney.
“Every child, especially of a certain age, is dreaming the same way as every other child and whatever the popular toy is these days they want it, too,” said Wanda Earhart, one of three Every Women’s Centre employees.
“It’s really hard for a parent that already knows they are going to be struggling just to get a stocking filled.”
The program that spans more than 25 years started when a small group of women in the community decided to help a few needy families at Christmas.
When registration closed this year the number of those in need of help had stretched to more than 600.
“The majority families we see, they don’t want to come here and ask for help for Christmas,” said Earhart.
“It’s a big step for somebody to do that. For most people, they are emotional and you just say ‘you want to do something for your child and don’t be afraid of doing that.’ Everybody wants to see their child wake up on Christmas morning and be excited as you dream they could be.”
A genuine sense of excitement also comes from those who make getting involved in the adopt-a-program a yearly Christmas tradition, she said.
These are the regular program contributors who have Christmas routines associated with the giving initiative.
“They get excited because they imagine what it is going to be like for this family to wake up on Christmas morning and open this package that Santa has brought and just the excitement of a family that they don’t even know.”
Regular program participants are families who consider helping the program their gift to one another and office staffs who forgo gift exchanges.
“I think we are seeing an awful lot these days of people realizing if they are comfortable and have everything they need, there’s no point in everybody exchanging gifts, so they do something for somebody else.”
Though many people sign on to help the program each year, more help from the community is still needed.
“Some people aren’t sure if they can help, but we can suit it to anyone’s budget,” she said. “People will be surprised on how little it costs to adopt a family.”
A sponsor can choose to help an entire family or to simply purchase a toy or a meal, she said.
Monetary donations of any size also go a long way towards helping to make Christmas morning special for a family.
Call the centre at 902-5671212 or email wandaearhart.swcproject@gmail.com for more information.