The holiday season is a time for families to be together, celebrate and for some, a time to give back to others. The Grand Haven Christmas Project aims to connect those who want to give back and bring joy to those who need a little bit of assistance during the holidays. Through generous donation of time, gifts and materials, the Grand Haven Christmas Project is able to bless dozens of families each year.
The Grand Haven Christmas Project is a group of volunteers who assists families in Grand Haven, Spring Lake and Ferrysburg area get adopted for Christmas to ensure no one goes without during the holidays. Families who are sponsored by the organization must live in the Tri-Cities, have children under 18, and cannot be helped by another organization for holiday gift assistance.
“This past year has been a whirlwind for everyone so being able to provide Christmas gifts to families who may have gone without for the first time is really heartwarming,” said Carole Wexstaff, leader of the Grand Haven Christmas Project. “The highlight of my year is bringing together our community to support our families in need.”
This is the ninth year of bringing blessings to families through the project that was originally launched by Debi Guzman of Spring Lake in 2011. This year they have nearly 40 families nominated ranging in size from two to ten people. These families are those who typically cannot receive help through other organizations for not meeting income requirements or are too embarrassed to ask for help when they truly need it. Because the organization accepts nominations by others, it makes it easier for families to accept the help when someone anonymously nominates them versus them having to ask for support.
“My family has been adopted by the Grand Haven Christmas Project in the past. I found myself being told I didn’t meet requirements for making too much money but still in a position of not being able to provide Christmas for my son. It was heartbreaking to hear,” said Ashley. “I’m forever grateful for what this organization has provided my family. The feeling of crawling out of bed at midnight to put gifts under the tree knowing that you were fully supported by someone is truly indescribable.”
If you or a local business would like to help a family like Ashley’s this year, there are many ways to give back this holiday season. You can:
- Adopt a family
- Adopt a member of a family
- Donate non-perishable food items for families to make a Christmas meal
- Donate toiletries
When adopting a family, one clothing item and one gift or hobby item is asked for each family member. This year more and more families are requesting food items and toiletries instead of gifts.
Leppinks Food Center has graciously partnered with the Grand Haven Christmas Project to ensure families necessities are met this holiday season. Leppinks Food Center has six locations throughout West Michigan so if you’re driving by, stop in and support them too. To learn more, click here.
“This year we’ve had an uptick of families requesting non-gift items like food and toiletries so we know how hard it must be right now,” said Carole. “We are forever grateful for Leppinks support this year!”
If you, your family, or your place of employment want to more information of how to get involved this holiday season, email The Grand Haven Christmas Project at GrandHavenChristmasProject2020@gmail.com
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