#GivingTuesday: A global day of giving
Please consider a financial donation to our Adopt A Family program on November 29 during Giving Tuesday.
100% of the donations made on Giving Tuesday will go toward our Adopt A Family program.
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Adopt A Family donors talk about their experience
Please feel free to pass along this video to others considering getting involved in the Adopt A Family program.
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We're a 2016 Top Workplace!
We are thrilled to be named a 2016 Top Workplace by the
Detroit Free Press
for the fifth year in a row!
Interested in being a part of our team? Check out our opening
s
here
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This month I'd like to introduce you to a few of our many, dedicated volunteers/donors.
We are in the midst of our annual Adopt A Family program, which will serve more than 700 people this year, including formerly homeless families and individuals. While these families now have a roof over their heads, many do not have money for holiday gifts or even basic necessities such as bedding, towels, and winter clothing (more on giving opportunities for this year's program can be found in the sidebar).
Many of the Adopt A Family volunteers, donors and shoppers join us year after year in helping to make our program participants holiday season brighter. In speaking with a few of our repeat volunteers and donors, it was
interesting to see what drew them to us and made them want to help and continue to help in such a major way.
Our Special Events and Volunteer coordinator Lisa Fuhr, adds, "Adopt A Family wouldn't be the success it is without the support of these volunteers and donors."
Let's turn to a few of our volunteers/donors now and hear what Community Housing Network means to them and why they've decided to be a part of our donor and volunteer family.
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Darlene and Dave Wade
"We were looking for a place to volunteer. In speaking with our friend, Tami Jelinek (Troy office Adopt A Family coordinator - if you or someone you know are interested in being a donor for Adopt A Family, please email Tami!), she recommended that we get involved with Community Housing Network. We'd heard great things about CHN and the support they offered to their program participants and felt it would be a good fit for us to volunteer here
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This is our third season helping with Adopt A Family, we love supporting the program for so many reasons! Since we help set up the distribution center, shop, and then pass out gifts, we get to see the joy that donors have when they drop off their gifts, as well as the joy the recipients have when they are receiving their holiday surprises."
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Sherry and Tom Toggweiler
"For years we had adopted families through a school in Detroit. When the school stopped their program we heard about this one from a friend who works at CHN. We feel it's important to give
to those less fortunate than us and want to give something back to our community. We had a very tough Christmas season years ago and someone we barely knew helped us. It meant so much to us and we want to pay that forward.
We've spread the word about the program to family and friends and were able to get one of our employers to adopt families as well.
Last year we had a chance to visit CHN when most of the gifts had been collected. We were able to see the amazing organization that goes into this program and were awed by the dedication of the staff to bring all of this together. Wrapping the gifts is always special and the thank you notes from the families are always touching.
The lists from the families are always more "needs" than "wants." People are asking for blankets, dishes, pots and pans, etc. more than "fun" gifts. It really makes you realize how lucky some of us are that we don't even think about needing/wanting such essential items. We're happy that we're able to participate in the Adopt A Family program."
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Deb Anderson
"The Adopt A Family program - this is what Christmas is all about! It's not what you can get, but what you can give. Plus - it's fun! I love shopping for this program!
Speaking of shopping, I'm not sure if I should tell this story or not, (because I know there's a limit on how much you're supposed to spend) but one of my favorite moments was the year my brother-in-law and I adopted a family who needed a crib for their infant. We didn't care that we were going over the spending limit, the baby needed a crib, and we were getting the baby a crib!
If you want a reminder of what the season is really about, I suggest signing up to Adopt A Family today!"
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Nikki N. -
(Oakland Orthopaedic Surgeons)
"Every year, as a group, we chose a charity to sponsor. In 2013, an employee suggested Adopt A Family. We've continued to support Adopt A Family because it supports our local community.
We continue to stay involved because we all enjoy helping local families, especially those with children, to have a good holiday. We realize without this program, they may not have otherwise been able to have a holiday.
We love seeing all of the wrapped gifts at the drop-off location. It can be overwhelming at times, but it's great to see that there are still good people in the world willing to hands-on support local charities in other ways than donating money. We also love getting thank you cards from the families.
We love that Adopt A Family and Community Housing Network work with these families longer than just at the holidays. You're there every day helping these families find housing and jobs to get them back on their feet."
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I am grateful for the time, generosity and support of our donors.
Thank you for your ongoing support!
Marc Craig
President
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With support from:
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