Adopt-a-Family Program
“The Holidays” – the phrase encompasses many things for people: the coming of winter’s quiet; a season of generosity; reaffirmation of religious ties; indulgences in food and drink; shopping expeditions; and usually some amount of stress.
But across the various tangibles and intangibles of the season, perhaps the strongest and most enduring sentiment the holidays evoke is that of family. And for over a decade, the Interfaith Council for the Homeless in Orleans has been relying on the generosity of local people who see “family” as more than just blood relations. Each holiday season, the Council administers its Adopt-a-Family program, which seeks to make the holidays a bit brighter for local families in need.
Maureen Linehan, Adopt-a-Family coordinator, explained that the Council assists residents from Harwich to Provincetown throughout the year.
“But every year we have people who have to choose between making Christmas or paying the rent,” she said.
Once approved for this special annual program, existing clients provide Linehan and her coworkers with an information sheet listing shirt, pants, slippers, and coat size for each child up to age 18 in the family. In addition, each child is asked to provide two special wishes for what caseworker Maggi Flanagan calls “their heart’s desire.”
Linehan, Flanagan, and caseworker Nancy Roberts agree that the need for the program has grown over the 11 years since its inception. They originally began the program, Roberts said, because “We started hearing from families who weren’t paying their rent in January and when we asked them why, they said, ‘Because we had to make Santa happen.’”
The women have seen new families come to the Council for assistance this year and they expect the Adopt-a-Family program’s participation to rise as well. In 2005, the program helped provide holiday gifts for 285 children from 130 families across the Lower Cape. Linehan has already signed up 80 families this year, and the number grows daily.
“We’re finding that rents are up, gas and electricity is up,” explained Roberts. “And last year impacted so many people that they’re still playing catch-up.”
The other side of this equation, of course, is being able to fill the need, and that’s where the Council depends on the big hearts of local organizations, companies, and residents. The three have seen a lot of generosity, but they all still gush with amazement when relating stories from over the years. Linehan told the story of a 9-year old boy from Orleans who, every year on his birthday, has a big party with all his friends. Each friend brings a gift, and the child donates everything to the Council in order to make some other little boy’s holiday season more cheery.
The Council attempts to make things as donor-friendly as possible. Some people like to do the shopping themselves, Linehan explained, while others prefer to give a cash donation. Sometimes an individual donor or organization will take on the responsibility for buying gifts for an entire family, as American Heritage Realty does every year; other donors will take just one child or even just one gift for one child. Linehan has the responsibility of making sure every child in a family is equally provided for.
“They can even ask for a child or family in a specific town,” said Roberts, who pointed out that her hometown of Harwich has the largest caseload of all the communities served by the Council.
Even with all the options, Linehan said her experience has shown that when it comes right down to it, all the donors really care about is helping the kids get what they need and a little of what they want.
She pointed to a Macy’s bag with a fluffy baby blue bathrobe peeking out of the top.
“This is for a 16-year old girl,” she said. “All she wanted was a snuggly warm bathrobe.”
Asked what the hot requests are for this season, the three women responded with the same intimate knowledge they might have of their own children’s wish lists.
“Barbies are always very popular,” one said, while the others added, “Moon shoes and V-Smiles; sports jerseys and anything Roxy.” Legos, superheroes, and skateboards rounded out the list.
For some local businesses, participating in the Adopt-a-Family Program goes beyond adopting a child or family.
“We have a lot of boys who are into skateboards,” said Roberts, “and good skateboards aren’t cheap, especially when you add in a helmet and pads. Nauset Sports came through with a great deal so we’ll be able to get discounted boards.”
Linehan pointed out that it isn’t always easy to get a good read on what a child really wants. Parents are good at letting them know what a child needs, she said.
“One mom wanted pajamas for her son and when I asked what color, she said, ‘Warm.’”
Flanagan agreed, saying her conversations with parents often start out the same way: “Your child is six, and we know this child believes in Santa. What do they really want Santa to bring? You almost have to coerce the ideas out of the kids sometimes because they’re so used to being told no.”
Linehan and her crew run a tight operation, but occasionally the need for assistance is overwhelming. The Adopt-a-Family program works in concert with other holiday donation programs on the Cape in order to best assist the greatest number of families. Clients are asked to choose only one charity so that more families can be helped, said Roberts.
She added that in 2005, “The Angel Fund graciously took a couple of our Chatham families so that those children could have a happy holiday… we try to work closely with all the agencies so that everyone can have a good Christmas.”
Last year, when the program ran short on cash before all the gifts were purchased, Linehan began using her personal credit card to buy the needed items, with the faith that the necessary donations would continue to come in. They did.
“This is the ‘faith’ in ‘interfaith,’” Roberts concluded. “We have faith in our clients and faith in our community.”
If you would like to assist the Interfaith Council for the Homeless in their Adopt-a-Family program, contact Maureen Linehan at 508-255-9667, ext. 13.