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DECEMBER 2003

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Providing Hope

Envision being alone and elderly, or a parent with no money to buy presents for your children during the holiday. Imagine the feeling of children who don’t understand why they don’t get presents, wondering if they did something wrong.

There’s an agency in this community that for the last 21 years has quietly reached out during the holiday season to provide help for needy families, elders and children. Indeed, this agency has provided Hope for the Holidays.

The Volunteer Center of Alachua County, originally established 32 years ago by E.T. York and the Gainesville Rotary Club, has since 1972, worked hard to help those who are less fortunate. The agency’s partners in this effort are the Gainesville Sun, the Rotary Club and the Jaycees. Through Hope for the Holidays, local families, individuals and companies that are more fortunate, have been able to provide support for those in our community who need it the most.

And while the number of needy families has grown, so has the generosity of our neighbors. “Hope for the Holidays started with about 50 needy families,” said Michelle Dicks, the executive director of the Volunteer Center. “We peaked in 2001 with 526 families. This year it looks like we will end up ‘adopting’ 475 to 500 families.”

The Volunteer Center organizes this effort with a staff of two full-time employees and one part-time employee.

Families or individuals, in need, are referred to the Volunteer Center by a number of local social service agencies including Meridian Behavioral Healthcare, Hospice of North Central Florida, Eldercare and Children’s Services. About 40 agencies are involved in the referral process.

“We try to provide two things to the individuals and families referred to us,” Dicks said. “We try to make sure that they have a holiday experience. But we also try to get volunteers to mentor, we help provide medical aid and we try to arrange to get them whatever they need. If a refrigerator will solve their problem, that’s what we try to get them.”

The Gainesville Sun features stories of about a dozen of the Hope for the Holidays families each year. “I think sometimes people assume that’s all we do,” Dicks said. “But after those dozen, we are helping another 500.”

If your family or organization is unable to adopt one of the needy families or individuals, there are other ways to help,” Dicks says. “People can do a drive for necessary items,” she said. “We have had drives for books, toys or food. We even had some creative people hold a drive to collect socks.”

There are other ways to get involved with the Volunteer Center as well. “One of the biggest things we do is volunteer training for community members,” Dicks said. “Our volunteers end up all over the community. It’s a great opportunity for people to sink their teeth into something heartwarming.”

Anyone interested in helping the Volunteer Center with Hope for the Holidays, bringing happiness to others this holiday season, or finding out about other programs should call 378-2552.