The House of Lazarus [HOL] is running two programs over the holiday season to ensure that no family living in rural poverty goes without. The Adopt-A-Family program has been around for a number of years and helps pair donors with a family, couple, or individual who needs help celebrating the festive season. The donor can choose to provide a holiday meal, gifts, or both, to whoever they are paired up with.
“There is no dollar value set for the adoption program, so it’s whatever your budget allows,” says HOL Client Services Coordinator, Kim Merkley.
There are still approximately 30 families and 20 couples/individuals in need of adoption this year. Without this program, many would go without a proper holiday meal and the kids would have nothing under the tree on Christmas morning. “Being adopted during the holidays means a lot to our clients,” Kim says. “[They] are always overwhelmed by how generous people are.”
To adopt a family email Kim at kmerkley@houseoflazarus.com and let her know whether you’d like to adopt a family, individual, or couple. “I will send you back a wish list from them, including genders and sizes,” she says. “The gifts don’t have to be wrapped, and the meal can be a gift card, so you don’t have to go out and buy all the food yourself.” The deadline for returning baskets for the Adopt-A -Family program is December 18, so their clients have time to pick up their baskets before the holidays.
If you would rather give a gift to a single child, HOL is also running their Angel Tree program. “We have about 40 children left for the program,” Kim says. The deadline to donate gifts for the Angel Tree program is the first week of December.
Each month over 100 local families access the HOL Food Bank. “Every year, the need for our services continues to grow, and programs like Adopt-A-Family make a huge difference in our client’s lives,” Kim says.
