Holiday Season at The Foundling (Part III): Kids Helping Kids
The Holidays may be over but at The Foundling we’re still reveling in the wonderful ways our friends, families, donors and volunteers made this holiday season the best yet. In Part III of our Holiday Blog Series we’ll highlight the generosity and kindness demonstrated by a few of our young volunteers.
Kennedy Slater donated her birthday to The Foundling. In lieu of gifts, Kennedy asked her party guests to consider donating a gift card to help Foundling children and families through the holiday season. With the support of her mom, Michelle, and her three sisters (Sydney, Avery and Tiffany), Kennedy collected over 20 gifts cards!
Amanda Eisenberg, a senior in high school and former Foundling intern organized a crowdfunding campaign and created six fully stocked ‘baby bundles’ packed with all the necessities needed for The Foundling’s Crisis Nursery. Amanda also collected 75 gift cards!
Gift cards to affordable retailers like Target, Old Navy and TJ Maxx, along with prepaid cards (American Express, Mastercard, Visa) not only bring extra holiday cheer, they also empower the families in our care to select the items they need most for daily living. The gift cards Kennedy and Amanda collected brought hope and happiness to many families in need this holiday season. And, as winter finally arrives in New York City, parents and caregivers are using their gifts cards to make sure their little ones are ready to brave the cold with warm coats, cozy mittens, as well as hats, earmuffs and scarfs.
Samantha Katz and her mother Stacy dropped by last week to deliver books and diapers for the Crisis Nursery, and also presented The Foundling with a check for $100! Samantha raised the funds this past summer at a lemonade stand she organized near her home, and wanted to be sure that the money went to an organization helping other children.
The members of Cub Scout Pack 422 organized their annual gift card and toy drive for The Foundling again this year, with great success. They collected over 100 gift cards and over 200 toys to help our children, teens and families have a happy holiday!
Participating in our annual gift collection, creating crowdsourcing campaigns, hosting gift card drives, and volunteering at Foundling events are great ways to be involved with our organization. Another way to help us deliver services to children and families across New York City is through financial support or through our monthly giving plan. Funds are used to provide important services to 30,000 children and families year-round.
You’re never too old or too young to appreciate the joy of giving to others. If you would like to fundraise for The Foundling or are interested in learning about other volunteer opportunities please email development@nyfoundling.org or visit our volunteer page.
COMING UP: Keep an eye out for our next blog series on even more ways to volunteer and get involved with The Foundling!
