Alum Rock Counseling Center’s Annual Toy Giveaway Event has been taking place every December for almost 10 years. Offering a holiday celebration for the whole family (complete with yummy snacks, arts and crafts stations, holiday music and photos with Santa) and providing gifts to low-income youth who otherwise might not receive a gift during the holiday season, ARCC hosted nearly 600 youth and caregivers for a magical celebration in 2019. This year, due to COVID and emergency health orders, the in-person toy giveaway event cannot take place. Unfortunately, for many of ARCC’s families, the need for support and gifts this holiday season will be greater than ever before.
As ARCC’s Chief Development & Communications Officer explains, “If families cannot come to us to get their dose of holiday joy this year, then we must find a way to bring that holiday joy to them.”
Thanks to the generous support of the Sharks Foundation and Citizen Equity First Credit Union (CEFCU), Alum Rock Counseling Center will be able to do just that. The Sharks and CEFCU are providing funding as well as volunteers who will go shopping for ARCC’s families and purchase gifts from each family’s wish lists. These gifts will be wrapped and bundled into festive holiday gift packages and, adhering to all public health guidelines and social distancing protocols, they will be delivered to families’ doorsteps just before the holidays. Additionally, thanks to generous donations of $25 gift cards from individual donors to places such as GameStop, Sephora, Target, and Amazon, other youth will be able to safely select a holiday gift from the safety of their own homes.
Want to help be part of the magic? Here’s how:
You can donate funds to support ARCC’s 2020 Holiday Appeal
by making a donation online or by mailing a gift to the following address:
ARCC’s 2020 Holiday Appeal
Attn: Stacy Dryer
777 N. First Street, Suite 444
San Jose, CA 95112
Gifts to the holiday appeal will support the purchase of gifts and wrapping supplies as well as the continuation of ARCC’s telehealth counseling services through the end of the year and beyond.
Please contact Stacy Dryer at 408-930-2665 or by email at sdryer@alumrockcc.org if you have any
questions and/or would like to find out about volunteer opportunities.
“Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.” – Desmond Tutu
ARCC extends special appreciation to our 2020 community partners:
