Holiday Heroes Needed

Canning supplies probably don't sound like a great Christmas present to most people. But for Sara, being able to can the produce from her garden and her commodity boxes means she can continue to feed her kids when the fresh produce is hard to find.

Gift lists and celebrating with family and friends are on most everyone's mind this week, with Thanksgiving and Black Friday shopping nearly here and December holidays close behind. But for Sara and 1,810 other Shawnee County households that qualified to receive assistance from the Christmas Bureau, celebration isn't a sure thing. Their holiday depends on the kindess of strangers like you. More than 750 households are still waiting for their Christmas wish to come true.

For some, times are so tight that they will ask not for fun gifts, but for essentials like socks, shoes, a warm coat--or those canning supplies. They may be hoping for not a lavish Christmas dinner, but for staples that will last them into January and February. They may be spending Christmas in temporary housing after becoming homeless. 

United Way wants you and your family or organization to be part of this uplifting community tradition. Adopting a family is simple. Just fill out the application form on our website: https://unitedwaytopeka.org/work/cb/adopt/. You can also download and print a form and bring it to the United Way office at 1315 SW Arrowhead. Helping one person takes just $70, which includes a gift maximum of $40 and $30 for food. Most adopters choose to shop for their family and deliver directly to them, but United Way also has volunteer elves who can do that part for you if you prefer to just donate (donate online here: http://andar.unitedwaytopeka.org/gift).

Our goal is to match the remaining 761 households before Thanksgiving. Will you help? We will be posting daily updates on social media next week, so visit https://www.facebook.com/UnitedWayTopeka/  for more.