Closing Out 2020 on a positive note: SAFE Holidays a massive success

Written by Antwon R. Martin

We’re thrilled to announce that nearly 300 donors have provided gifts for more than 1,000 SAFE clients as part of this year’s SAFE Holidays program!

We serve hundreds of youth, adults, and families during the holiday season. And every year, we ask SAFE clients to fill out wishlists for presents. Each wishlist includes gift cards for adults and presents like toys, bikes, shoes, and games for younger clients.

To fulfill those wishlists, we ask our caring community for support—even during a global pandemic, our community came through! We are still calculating the total dollar amount of gifts donated, but we anticipate over $125,000 worth of presents and gift cards.

Volunteers, staff, and donors help sort and receive gifts at the SAFE Family Shelter.

 

“I had the opportunity to help out at the SAFE Family Shelter this year to sort and organize gifts,” said SAFE Communications Coordinator Antwon R. Martin. “It’s inspiring to see the sheer volume of gifts as they come in and to see how delighted people are to donate presents. Everyone has it tough in different ways and I’m really grateful for the people who were able to give a little to help bring some holiday cheer to the kids, adults and families we serve.”

Most clients will be receiving their gifts this week. Our staff will be receiving and shopping for presents up to Dec. 24 to fill last-minute wishlists for clients who have just moved in.

Changes this year

As part of the 2020 SAFE Holidays program, we scheduled fewer volunteers to help receive and sort gifts and we put a greater emphasis on gift card donations to reduce the total amount of volunteer hours needed for managing donations. We had 30 people help with this year’s program.

To further reduce the risk of exposure during the pandemic, we did not schedule volunteers or staff to wrap presents. Instead, we accepted donations of wrapping paper, gift bags, and bows which will be given to parents so they can wrap their children’s presents.

You can still help

For anyone who can support survivors of violence in our care, we still need help stocking our shelves in our residential programs. Basic needs, home goods, can gift cards are always in very high demand.

Gift card donations are always appreciated because they empower clients to choose and purchase their own gifts. Our list of in-kind needs is available here.