Christmas Bureau update: It's not too late to give
December is almost here, and COVID-19 has made things challenging for this year's Christmas Bureau. Even before our local infection rate began to spike in early November, we made the tough decision with our Christmas Bureau partners to reduce the potential for COVID exposure as much as possible. We completed in-person intake just as numbers started to rise, spreading out to three locations and taking precautions that included face coverings and Plexiglas dividers.
We also made the difficult choice to eliminate the wish lists and adoption process this year to protect both our Christmas Bureau clients and our donors. Getting together to shop, wrap and deliver presents just didn't seem to work well given the need to social distance and limit non-essential trips. We greatly appreciate everyone's cooperation and understanding with this temporary change for 2020.
Normally, the cost of adopting thousands of individuals is spread across scores of individuals and groups all over the county. This year, to provide every individual with a $15 gift card, we estimated that we could need up to $90,000 if numbers stayed close to 2019 totals.
Even though we know the need in the community is great, we were surprised when participation actually fell by about 40%. Our Community Impact staff speculates that the combination of concern over the virus may have played a significant role in reducing the number of people who applied. We have reached out to other United Ways and have learned we are not the only area seeing this decrease.
While we are disappointed and concerned that people who might be in need this holiday might not be accessing help, we are confident that everyone who did apply will be taken care of. Because the number of people who applied to Christmas Bureau was smaller than expected, we are able to lower the amount we need to raise. Instead of the $90,000 we would have needed to purchase 6,000 $15-dollar gift cards, we are decreasing our goal to $55,000. If we can get that done by the end of November, we’ll be able to make sure families receive their gift cards with plenty of time to celebrate.
The recent spike in COVID numbers will make gift card and food distribution very challenging, but all of the Christmas Bureau partners, including Topeka Rescue Mission, Doorstep, Salvation Army and Topeka Housing Authority, are collaborating on the safest and most efficient way to make it all happen. If there are safe options for volunteers to help, we will post them on TopekaVolunteers.org and our social media channels.
Thank you for your tireless support of our community in this incredibly trying moment. Thank you for making good choices that keep us all safe. If you haven’t made your Christmas Bureau contribution yet, we have another match opportunity on November 24 that will double your donation. You can also give right now through our e-pledge portal at UWGTChristmas.com.
Please have a safe and healthy holiday season and join us in looking forward to better times in the coming year.
See a video message from UWGT CEO Jessica Lehnerr on our Facebook page.
