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The Landis Community Outreach Center is asking everyone to help spread the holiday spirit by being a Holiday Helper.
The annual event matches gift requests from community partners with “Holiday Helpers” in the Lafayette community. With just under one week left before the final drop-off day next Monday, 50 of 146 gift requests remain outside the Landis Community Outreach Center in Farinon.
Trustee Scholar Caryn Donohue ’06 (Garden City, N.Y.), a psychology major, says the program has never received this many gift requests. Even though most people think of children’s gift requests for toys, she says the most needed items actually are sweatshirts, sweatpants, and gift certificates for parents who are buying toys for their children and neglecting their own needs.
“We’ve been having pretty good responses,” she says. “We’d like people to know that there are more gift responses available, and we’re afraid that these people won’t have anything.”
Donohue adds that donations to cover the costs of the gifts also are acceptable. With a donation, she is willing to shop for a gift, wrap, and address the gift from the donor.
Working with the Third Street Alliance, ProJeCt of Easton, and the Nurse Family Practitioners at the 19th Street Clinic, the Landis Center gathers gift requests for all clients and places the name, age, and gift request of each client on a gift tag. A donor simply signs for a tag and returns the wrapped gift and tag to the center. Participating groups are depending on the gifts, so only people committed to buying the needed gift should take a gift tag.
The gift drop-off deadline is Monday, but since all gifts need to be sorted before Thursday, Donohue says gifts may be returned sooner.