More families register for help this Christmas

    More families registered for the adopt-a-family Christmas program in Washington County this year than last year, according to HACAP Social Worker Associate Cindy Gretter. Gretter said 230 families in the county registered for help this Christmas, well over the 196 families who registered for assistance in 2008. What is more, Gretter said the 2008 figure was nearly double the number from 2007.

    Gretter said a collection of 52 service groups, churches and individuals adopted families this year. She said there were 29 families who were not adopted, but were provided with toys, clothes, and food that that service groups brought in.

    ?There was an astounding number of toys donated this year,? said Gretter. ?We were able to take the toys donated to the Gretter Autoland Inc. toy drive and give those to families who weren?t adopted.?

    Gretter said she could not be happier with the involvement of the county?s residents to reach out and do a good deed for the holidays.

    ?The people who adopt these families do an outstanding job,? said Gretter. ?We just ask that the sooner they can get the gifts to us, the better off everyone will be. Sometimes I need more than a day to find a family.?

    Gretter said the donors did such a terrific job that they left the receiving families in disbelief.

    ?Some of those who gave gifts just spoiled people rotten,? said Gretter. ?When they come to pick up their packages, they say, ?This is for me?? I gave out all but four boxes of toys, and they will be given out next Christmas. As a group and a community, we did the best we could. It was exhausting but we felt good about it when it was all over.?

    Gretter is pleased that so many people are willing to give generously during the holiday season. She has noted that sometimes there is confusion about what families expect to receive from the adopt-a-family program.

    ?Sometimes people will put down so many needs that you can?t meet them all,? said Gretter. ?There are some families that ask for laptops and big screen TVs, and we call them to say, ?That isn?t what this program is for.? Don?t expect a church to buy you a home PC system.?

    There is much more that families need besides toys for Christmas, said Gretter. She said that there is often too great a focus on toys and not enough on other things families lack.

    ?When a family comes to us, it?s not just because they want toys for their children. It?s because the family is in need,? said Gretter. ?If you don?t adopt a family but you want to help out, it is easier if we receive cash donations because we can more easily fill the families? needs, whether it be food, toys, wrapping paper or Christmas trees.?

    Yes, that?s right. Many families do indeed ask for Christmas trees on their wishlist.

    ?Last year, we gave out 40 Christmas trees,? said Gretter.

For the full story, see the Dec. 28 edition of The Washington Evening Journal