The Season of Giving is one of my favorite charitable events. I try to participate in each phase of the event. What do I love about this event? The directors have a process that ensures that everyone is treated with dignity. The volunteers and contributors are some of the nicest people I have ever met. The recipients are so gracious and appreciative.
The Season of Giving provides Christmas presents for our low income children and elderly. Citizens either adopt a participant(s) or give a monetary donation.
In the first phase of the process those in need are interviewed. For children, the parents or grandparents fill out of form with their family information and reason for seeking assistance. The director of the program manages this process. Next they sit with a volunteer and describe their children. The volunteers fill out a form with the child's age, gender, height, weight, and clothing sizes. The forms include the child's first name only. A number is assigned to each family and each child is identified by a letter. We also have a book with suggestions for interest and toys for each age group of children.
The seniors are interviewed as well. This charity is the only source of new warm clothing and other essentials these seniors need. Many donors include grocery gift cards. We have adopted seniors in the past and I am amazed at how little many of our elderly have to keep them warm, pay utilities, and eat.
We discuss the interest of the children, their personalities and the cultural beliefs of the family. This year I interviewed a woman I interviewed last year. She was so happy to give me an update on her son. We laughed a lot and she shared a photograph. I also interviewed someone coming for help for the first time. He was extremely nervous and felt awkward about asking for help. I showed him my forms and our book on suggested items for children. Then he began to speak about his children. Nothing breaks down barriers and warms up a conversation like talking about one's children.
During the second phase the handwritten information is compiled and donors are sought. There is an elaborate system involving numerous notebooks to track the families and donors, who has been assigned and the information on the donor. Donors will ask for specific genders and ages. We try to match up the entire family of children with similar types of donors to ensure that the gift giving appears equal for each child. It is a wonderful dance of organization and systemization that my industrial engineering heart loves.
The third phase is the purchasing of gifts. Steve and I adopted two children. They were sisters aged 14 and 2. There are two other sisters in the middle and I knew the identity of the donor that adopted the sisters. There are the photos of their gifts. The two year old needed a training potty and loves pink. The 14 year old plays football and wanted a MP3 player. The gifts are placed in individual lawn and leaf bags with the family number and child letter posted on the side on a brightly colored slip of paper provided by the organization. I place the wish list and child description in the bag as well.
The fourth phase is drop off. I have yet to volunteer for this position. It is another great efficient system. The same notebooks mentioned above are used to track what gifts are delivered and what donors dropped them off. Yet another system of notebooks is utilized. The drop off center is in a church gymnasium. There are two photos showing what it looks like after all gifts are dropped. The line of bag across the back of the gymnasium is the senior's gifts. All the others are children. They are placed in order of the family number and the child letter. You can easily see if a bag is missing because there is a blank spot in the row.
The fifth phase is checking the gift bags and shopping. Each bag is checked against the child's wish list to make sure sizes and items are correct and appropriate. Our number one priority is to make sure each child receives a winter coat and book and any other essential item listed. We have school teachers that make sure we have extra age appropriate books available to insert in bags as needed. Each family is reviewed to make sure the gifts are even between the children. Once a bag is checked it receives one line of an X across the bag. If the bag has sufficient gifts the other line of the X is made. For those needing additional items, lists are made for shoppers. Volunteer shoppers are sent out armed with cash and gift cards (another great system is in place for this too). It is a lot of fun to spend hundreds of dollars on clothing and toys, but more stressful than I anticipated. This year I was sent to Michaels for art kits. I was sent to Burlington to exchange a coat. This took an hour because they frown upon exchanges with no receipt and no tags. I used guilt to my advantage. When the volunteer shopper returns they place their items in the assigned bags and get to mark the bag completed with the final leg of the X. It is a great feeling.
The final phase is the pick up of the gifts. I have note volunteered for this phase. I know it would make me cry. I have been told of the gushing of thanks and the tears from the recipients.
On Christmas morning I will think of our two girls and hope they are happy. This is quite juxtaposition against the other two girls that often receive gifts from us. I hope in the future to involve Kate and Sarah in this charity so they understand that they are so very fortunate.
The Season of Giving provides Christmas presents for our low income children and elderly. Citizens either adopt a participant(s) or give a monetary donation.
In the first phase of the process those in need are interviewed. For children, the parents or grandparents fill out of form with their family information and reason for seeking assistance. The director of the program manages this process. Next they sit with a volunteer and describe their children. The volunteers fill out a form with the child's age, gender, height, weight, and clothing sizes. The forms include the child's first name only. A number is assigned to each family and each child is identified by a letter. We also have a book with suggestions for interest and toys for each age group of children.
The seniors are interviewed as well. This charity is the only source of new warm clothing and other essentials these seniors need. Many donors include grocery gift cards. We have adopted seniors in the past and I am amazed at how little many of our elderly have to keep them warm, pay utilities, and eat.
We discuss the interest of the children, their personalities and the cultural beliefs of the family. This year I interviewed a woman I interviewed last year. She was so happy to give me an update on her son. We laughed a lot and she shared a photograph. I also interviewed someone coming for help for the first time. He was extremely nervous and felt awkward about asking for help. I showed him my forms and our book on suggested items for children. Then he began to speak about his children. Nothing breaks down barriers and warms up a conversation like talking about one's children.
During the second phase the handwritten information is compiled and donors are sought. There is an elaborate system involving numerous notebooks to track the families and donors, who has been assigned and the information on the donor. Donors will ask for specific genders and ages. We try to match up the entire family of children with similar types of donors to ensure that the gift giving appears equal for each child. It is a wonderful dance of organization and systemization that my industrial engineering heart loves.
The third phase is the purchasing of gifts. Steve and I adopted two children. They were sisters aged 14 and 2. There are two other sisters in the middle and I knew the identity of the donor that adopted the sisters. There are the photos of their gifts. The two year old needed a training potty and loves pink. The 14 year old plays football and wanted a MP3 player. The gifts are placed in individual lawn and leaf bags with the family number and child letter posted on the side on a brightly colored slip of paper provided by the organization. I place the wish list and child description in the bag as well.
The fourth phase is drop off. I have yet to volunteer for this position. It is another great efficient system. The same notebooks mentioned above are used to track what gifts are delivered and what donors dropped them off. Yet another system of notebooks is utilized. The drop off center is in a church gymnasium. There are two photos showing what it looks like after all gifts are dropped. The line of bag across the back of the gymnasium is the senior's gifts. All the others are children. They are placed in order of the family number and the child letter. You can easily see if a bag is missing because there is a blank spot in the row.
The fifth phase is checking the gift bags and shopping. Each bag is checked against the child's wish list to make sure sizes and items are correct and appropriate. Our number one priority is to make sure each child receives a winter coat and book and any other essential item listed. We have school teachers that make sure we have extra age appropriate books available to insert in bags as needed. Each family is reviewed to make sure the gifts are even between the children. Once a bag is checked it receives one line of an X across the bag. If the bag has sufficient gifts the other line of the X is made. For those needing additional items, lists are made for shoppers. Volunteer shoppers are sent out armed with cash and gift cards (another great system is in place for this too). It is a lot of fun to spend hundreds of dollars on clothing and toys, but more stressful than I anticipated. This year I was sent to Michaels for art kits. I was sent to Burlington to exchange a coat. This took an hour because they frown upon exchanges with no receipt and no tags. I used guilt to my advantage. When the volunteer shopper returns they place their items in the assigned bags and get to mark the bag completed with the final leg of the X. It is a great feeling.
The final phase is the pick up of the gifts. I have note volunteered for this phase. I know it would make me cry. I have been told of the gushing of thanks and the tears from the recipients.
On Christmas morning I will think of our two girls and hope they are happy. This is quite juxtaposition against the other two girls that often receive gifts from us. I hope in the future to involve Kate and Sarah in this charity so they understand that they are so very fortunate.
1 comment:
I really like the stepstool potty. I could use one of those.
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