)_edited.png)
Learn how you can help local families in need this holiday season.
HPC invites you to be part of our 2023 Adopt-a-Family Holiday Program and bring a joyful celebration to the families in our community.
Thanks to the generosity and time of people, this annual program has been a meaningful success for the past 28 years. Last year was our biggest year to date. Donors adopted 219 families and 417 kids.
This year, program chair Jenna Karber expects that they will have upwards of 260 families participating.
Last year in the first week of November, 100 clients were signed up. I already have 131 now on Oct. 24. I think it’s because we started promoting it earlier and because with inflation, times are hard for families. - Jenna Karber, Adopt-a-Family program chair
Jenna is the organization’s go-to for any questions about the program, where she’s been involved for the past 8 years. She says that there are 4 ways to get involved:
“Adopt a Child or Children”: HPC can match you with a child or family to purchase clothing and gift items (approx. $200 per child – 2 special requests, a coat, a pair of pants and a shirt);
Send a donation to HPC for their team of Holiday Shoppers to shop for unmatched children;
Donate to the HPC Adopt-a-Family Bike Fund ($150 provides a bike and helmet). HPC provided new bikes to 120 children last year;
Purchase a gift card for a teen, and buy a grocery gift card to give to the families as a special enhancement to their holiday celebrations.
One grateful client sent the following thank you note last year, “I am completely in awe and so grateful for the contribution we received. When we signed up, I thought my daughter would just receive one special gift. The generosity has us speechless and we just wanted to say thank you from the bottom of our hearts. This organization has made a little girl’s Christmas that much brighter.”
This organization has made a little girl’s Christmas that much brighter. - Adopt-a-Family client
Jenna’s fiancé, Sean Smith, heads up the bike program. It’s a lot of work, but he’s found much personal satisfaction in helping families. There are no deadlines for clients to sign up to be on Santa’s list. “People’s circumstances change. We won’t tell them that they missed a deadline,” he said.
However, the last day that HPC is able to accept donation drop-offs is Dec. 15 at its office at 8 Main Street, in Orleans.
Jenna says that on Christmas morning she gets joy not only from watching her own children open gifts, but also in thinking of those 417 kids opening their gifts and having special Christmas mornings too!
If you are interested in learning more, please contact Jenna at 508-255-9667 x210 / adoptafamily@hpcccapecod.org. Click here to donate online.