Adopt-a-Family – Bringing Holiday Miracles to Families in Need

By: Kayleigh Wood, Digital Marketing Specialist & Chairperson of Corporate Giving

Growing up, my family didn’t have much, and what we did have, my mom sacrificed a lot for. She always did her best to make the holidays special for us kids, but when you’re a working single mother of four, there’s only so much you can do. Some years were better than others, but I will never forget the times we received support from our local Adopt-a-Family program.

Every year, Adopt-a-Family programs across the nation help bring holiday miracles and much needed support to thousands of families in need. Adopt-a-Family gives families the opportunity to experience holiday miracles by allowing donors to “adopt” a family for the holiday and provide them with all of the gifts on their children’s wish lists, gift cards, food, and more.

While I may not have known at that time that our family was an Adopt-a-Family (my mother did not tell me until I was much older), the impact that it had on my family was tremendous. I remember waking up one Christmas morning to a tree full of presents and couldn’t believe my eyes! When you’ve moved around, been homeless, and survived on empty cupboards and hand-me-downs, a tree covered in presents is nothing short of a miracle. I truly believed in Santa.

When my mom told me about the Adopt-a-Family program, and the miracles it brought us, I decided that if I were ever in the position to help others in need, I would do so in a heartbeat. I honestly never imagined it would lead me to be appointed the Chairperson of Corporate Giving or give me the opportunity to be directly involved with the Adopt-a-Family program within my very own workplace.

Having had the opportunity to participate in previous years’ local Adopt-a-Family program, organized by Families Forward, the JWilliams Staffing team has been moved by just how much of an impact the program has had on each individual family. This year, when the opportunity rose for someone to step in and help orchestrate our company’s involvement, I took that opportunity. With the help of the amazing team at JWilliams Staffing, we were able to provide personalized gifts and much needed support for a family of four kids and their parents.

With the help of donors like the JWS team, Families Forward was able to provide gifts for 1,886 children just last year alone, but these weren’t just any gifts, these were 1,886 gifts personally purchased for each individual child.

Unlike toy drives and food drives, the Adopt a Family program gives donors the opportunity to have a direct impact on a family by providing them with items they have personally requested. So, you could imagine just how much this means to a parent who otherwise couldn’t afford to give their kids gifts for the holidays.

With the global pandemic, this year has been hard on everyone. Being able to end it with the heartwarming experience of providing a local family in need a holiday miracle, means so much to all of us at JWilliams Staffing.

If you can, I urge you to support your local charity organizations in spreading holiday cheer and providing support for those in need.

For more information on Families Forward and their support programs – including Adopt a Family – visit their website here: https://www.families-forward.org/