Dear Families,
Are you looking for a meaningful way to give back this holiday season? Consider buying holiday gifts for a family in the Boston area experiencing homelessness or transitioning from homelessness. This is my 8th year organizing this Holiday Drive for Heading Home, an organization located in Charlestown dedicated to ending homelessness. With COVID-19, the need is greater than ever, and I have been asked to find donors for 248 families this year. Many donors have reported that past participation has been a meaningful way to engage their children in giving and demonstrating the importance of helping others in need. This year’s Drive will be entirely virtual, and I aim to make donating as easy as possible. Please respond to this email if you would like to do one of the following: a. buy a full kit for one or more families. (see below for information about kits) b. buy a partial kit for one or more families. c. Not buy for a specific family, but choose bedding, towels, gift cards, and/or children’s books to buy. Once I know what you’d like to do, I will send you the appropriate donor directions and, if you are buying a full or partial kit, the signup sheet where you will choose your family or families. Gifts will be due by Friday, December 3 to give me time to process them before movers pick them up early the following week. Please consider making the holidays a little brighter for individuals in our community. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me. Sincerely, Kim Jalet P.S. For updates, follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/somervillemomsheadinghomeholidaydrive. ABOUT THE KITS: Donors can make a partial (or whole) Kit; an Amazon registry will be available for easy shopping, but donors who would like other options can still buy from their favorite retailer. Each Kit will include: - A $25 Stop & Shop gift card (directions for doing this so we can get additional cards donated will be in the directions) - A bed-in-a-bag (contains comforter and sheet set) for the parent - A towel set - Gift(s) valued between $25 and $50 for each child in a family. You will choose the size of the family, and I will provide suggestions via an Amazon registry. ABOUT HEADING HOME: Heading Home is an impressive organization that considers the big picture as they work to fulfill their mission to “end homelessness in Greater Boston by providing a supported pathway to self-sufficiency that begins with a home, together with critical services such as life skills, financial literacy, and job training.” According to their website, Heading Home “provides emergency, transitional and permanent housing, and support services, to low-income homeless and formerly homeless families and individuals in the communities of Boston, Cambridge, Somerville, Medford, Malden, Everett and Quincy.” To be able to afford a 2-bedroom apartment in the Greater Boston area, families need to earn almost 3 times current minimum wage, yet the average household income of clients is under $14,000 per year. Ninety-two percent of their families are led by a single mother, and the average age of a child in Heading Home programs is 9 years old. In fiscal year 2020, Heading Home served 1,421 clients, 714 children, managed 159 moves out of shelter, and had a 96% retention rate by providing both housing and services to clients.
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