2020 Holiday project update
Dear Westerville Community,
Westerville Caring & Sharing has decided that we will need to change our Holiday Project for this year. Our project has many aspects that include large amounts of people. As everyone is aware, it is not possible to gather in large groups this year. To avoid the large group setting that our project typically takes on, we have decided that we will be providing a gift card for each child so that a gift can be purchased for them, plus a grocery store gift card for each family in place of the food boxes that are usually provided. Obviously this takes the "personal touch" out of our project but everyone involved feels that it is the safest way to help the families that need help.
The community has always gone above and beyond to help Westerville Caring & Sharing and our hope is that this year will be no different. We will need approximately 200 $25 gift cards to any grocery store and approximately 500 $50 gift cards to local stores. Our families will provide us with their child's gift wish list and we will match up a gift card that will allow them to purchase a requested item. We know that this is not as fulfilling as shopping for the items, but for now it is the safest idea we have come up with. We also hope to include a gift card from Westerville Caring & Sharing for clothing but this will be dependent on our donations.
If you prefer to sponser a specific gender and/or age, we can send you a wish list to your specifications and you can shop for the giftcards and donate them for that child specifically!
We are all aware that $50.00 does not purchase very much these days but that is the goal we have set in order to be able to cover the approximately 700 children that we expect to need help. Once we make sure that every child is going to receive one $50 gift card, we will distribute any extras that we might receive equally between our qualified families. All donations need to be received by December 11, 2020.
Any donations may be mailed to our P.O. box at Westerville Caring and Sharing P.O. box 970 Westerville, Ohio 43086. We will also be picking up donations through mid-december. If you would like us to pick up your donation, please call 614-470-4320 to arrange a date and time for pick up!
We serve children ages newborn through 18 so a gift card to almost any store in the area will be able to be matched with a request. Also many of our teens will request the gift of entertainment as opposed to toys. Gift cards for movie theaters, bookstores, electronic stores, fast food, bowling, video arcades, etc. are all items that can be used for teens. We welcome any ideas anyone else might have also. We know that many families will be depending on our help and we certainly would like to be able to help all that need it. We want everyone in the community to know that if they need a little help with the holiday to please call our voicemail at 614-470-4320 to hear information as to how they can receive this help. If they reside in the Westerville School district we will do our very best to help them.
This is a difficult time for everyone but we are very thankful for the Westerville Community and the ongoing support it has alway provided us. We have no doubt that we will accomplish this together as we always have. Please feel free to contact us at the above telephone number or via email if you have any more questions. Again, thank you very much for including us in your plans and for your ongoing support.
Holiday Project
The Holiday Project, which was started in 1988, has two components—Holiday Gift Sponsorship and Food Drive. The Holiday Project helps students and their families with items from their wish list, food basket, gift certificates, and personal hygiene products. We cannot do what we do without the cooperation and participation of the Westerville community.
- Sponsor a child or a teenager
- Give a financial donation
- Volunteer your time
- Organize a food drive
Holiday Gift Sponsership:
The Westerville Caring & Sharing Holiday Project assists students and their families with gifts, food baskets, personal hygiene and household products through a sponsorship, consisting of individuals and/or businesses/organizations. The Christmas sponsorship is a community-wide project where we recruit sponsors to provide items from a student’s wish list. Every year, families fill out an application to participate in the Holiday Project. Once accepted, students and/or parents /guardians fill out a wish-list where requests for clothing, toys, electronics, books, etc are recorded. A sponsor is then matched with a student(s) to purchase items from the wish list. The sponsors then deliver the gifts to the distribution site.
The Westerville community supports us in many ways. Civic groups donate winter coats for children ranging in age from pre-school to high school. Many restaurants donate a portion of the day’s proceeds to Westerville Caring and Sharing. Fundraisers from different organizations and school students were held to raise money to buy gift certificates and other items for students and their families. As an example of student involvement with WC&S, Westerville elementary students raised $225.81 by collecting pennies. In 2010, the three high schools donated $39,465.
Food drive:
The food drive is a community-wide project. Over 50 Westerville community businesses allow donation boxes to be placed on their premises. In addition, organizations, civic groups, city employees, and the school district have their own food drives, and donate what they collect to Westerville Caring and Sharing. During one Holiday Project, Westerville City middle school students collected approximately 8,000 canned goods; and at another time, city employees donated approximately 8,200 pounds of food!
Back to school project
The Back-to-School project is designed to help families with school-aged children who might be overwhelmed in providing school supplies and clothing. We give students the same type of school supplies that every other student has. This allows the students on subsidized lunch program to start the school year on an equal footing.
With having a successful Holiday Project in 1988, the members of Westerville Caring and Sharing expanded the very next year to help students with back to school supplies! We give students the same type of school supplies and book bags that everyone else has. In addition to school supplies, personal hygiene products are also given as these items cannot be purchased with an EBT card. It is important that these students start the school year on an equal footing with their peers.
