‘Tis The Season To S.H.A.R.E. Letter

“For it is in giving, that we receive.” St. Francis of Assisi

Thank you for adopting a S.H.A.R.E. angel/family. We would not be able to make the holidays memorable for these families without your continued support. I would like to share a few guidelines that we ask of the donor; we do not put a monetary or “present limit” on donors but we ask that you remember this might be the only thing these families receive this holiday season. Please feel free to contact the case manager and/or the family to learn a little bit more about them-if they are Spanish speaking the case manager or referring agency will be able to help you. We accept applications in 5 counties- Duplin, Columbus, New Hanover, Pender, and Brunswick so many of these families are up to 1.5 hours away from NHC. You do NOT have to deliver but many donors take this time to truly enjoy the spirit of the holiday. If you are delivering please make sure to talk to the family since these could be gifts from Santa. If you are delivering personally I ask that you please ask the family if they would like the present wrapped – if not please deliver rolls of wrapping paper and tape. We also ask that you send a list of items purchased for each family since everyone gives differently and we are able to add to the donations with toy drives if need be. We also like to add gently used clothing, toys, and books if the family needs them. Many times donors ask about the adults in the home, I encourage that if you do want to buy things for the adults you do basic necessities including canned and boxed foods, cleaning supplies, personal hygiene items, or items including new towels. This is a great time to purge your gift closet! We do require that you send us the date of delivery or the date that we will be receiving the items so we can set up delivery. I was able to witness last year a donor family that cooked for their applicant and it was an amazing encounter—think about this possibility. We ask that we know by Dec 1st when delivery will take place or if you are not delivering we ask that all donations be returned to S.H.A.R.E. by December 1st so that we can arrange delivery.

This went to health and human service workers about ‘Tis the Season to S.H.A.R.E. and will give you more insight into our program: All parents HAVE to take part in this process but applications must be submitted by a human services employee (nurse, therapist, case managers, teachers, DSS, etc.). Please include in the description that you have spoken with the family about the program. This program is NOT for every child— this program is to help the kids that otherwise would not have a holiday. Please keep this in mind when looking at your caseload– if their family can afford Christmas then SHARE will focus on another child who is less fortunate. Please be mindful when you apply.

Last year we added food and used goods to the items that were purchased for families if the family was in need. These are the only items that will be included for adults this year. Please do not put adult needs on this form unless you specify why. Please make sure to include that food or used clothes and toys are okay for the specific application in addition to purchase items. This program is open to all children in the counties we cover– NOT just CDSA kids. Also please make sure that if there are other children in the home you make sure to include them and their specific needs and requests. DO NOT guess sizes—be specific. Toy requests can include favorite colors, characters, etc.

This year volunteers will be shopping and delivering a large portion of applications. All applications must be able to have volunteers deliver or a specific reason stated why they couldn’t in the application. Please make sure all addresses and phone numbers are correct and if the family requires an interpreter. If for some reason we are unable to deliver it becomes the referring person’s responsibility to get the items to the family. Any application that is more than 20 miles from our base — Hampstead, will need to be picked up on the designated day that will be set up with me. All applications must be in by November 20th. Let’s see how we do this year and how many kids we can help. Thank you for caring about our community, thank you for allowing us to help your families, and thank you for reminding your family of our motto and concept of Paying it Forward.

Thank you again for taking part in “Tis The Season to S.H.A.R.E. I hope that it is as fulfilling for you as it is for our applicants. Happy Holidays.

Briana Kelly
Executive Director