Making Holidays Bright

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You can help to make holidays bright for children, teens, adults, and families in need!

Thank you for considering Family & Children Services for your holiday giving!

Family & Children Services offers several ways to assist low-income children, teens, adults, and families during the winter holiday season. These include:

• Adopt A Family – We will make a match based on your preferences of family size and location. Our families in need are grateful for books, toys and clothes for their children, gift cards, jackets and coats, and more.
• Gifts for youth exiting foster care – These youth are setting up their first apartments, starting jobs, and continuing their educations – all on their own. Our Independent Living Program provides them with encouragement, living skills education, and referrals to resources to help. Gift cards help them buy sheets and towels, household items, work clothes, and other necessities.
• Gifts for high-need children in childcare – We have therapists who provide mental health assessment and care in childcare centers serving children from low-income, high-need families. These children need learning toys and games, books, and warm clothes and shoes.
• Gifts for adults – We serve adults who are struggling to make ends meet. Our clients also include men and women with AIDS or HIV. Most of these clients cannot work and they have high need for grocery gift cards, warm blankets and clothing, bath products, and toys for their children.
• Fulfilling wishes for program supplies – Donating supplies our staff needs for working with clients impacts the treatment of many. Staff wishes range from clay and markers to projectors and fire alarms designed for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.
• Cash donations to support our client services – We can always put donations to good use in serving our clients. For example, donations make it possible for us to provide mental health care for as long as clients need, at well below our costs of providing the care.
• Fulfilling wishes from our client and program 2006 Wish List

* Lists of gift suggestions and needs will be provided.

This fall, we will post a 2007 Making Holidays Bright donor form that you may print, complete, and submit.

For more information
Please contact Maryanne McGlothlin at 650-326-6576 or by email at:

Some comments from our 2006 families:

"This is all for us? Really?" a nine-year-old boy whose parents are served in our counseling program.

"I had been very worried about the kind of Christmas they were going to have. This is wonderful. The generosity is amazing," a grandmother whose son's family was 'adopted' for the holidays.

" These blankets look so warm. My children will sleep well these cold nights," a mother.

Thank you to employees at BEA Systems, Novellus Systems, and Barocchi Family Law, as well as several individuals and families for being among our generous 2006 donors!

Some comments from our 2005 families:

“With the grocery store gift card, she was able to buy meat for the Christmas tamales. It meant a lot for her to be able to provide this special holiday meal for her sons.” – A therapist speaking about a client who received gifts last year

“My children love the bicycles. They have been riding around constantly. It is a dream come true.” – A mother on gifts received last year

“Kids grow so quickly. These new clothes will really help us.” – A grandmother raising her grandchildren

“Are these really for us?” – A 10-year-old boy watching boxes being placed under the tree in his house

Thank you to BEA Systems, Novellus, and Mirage Systems for being among our generous 2005 Adopt A Family donors.

rev. 01/07