These volunteers are intaking and organizing gifts at Fisherman’s Mark.
by June Portnoy
When you look around your community, it might seem like everyone around you lives comfortably, able to pay their bills and buy plenty of food and clothing for their entire family, but unfortunately, that’s not the case for some people living closeby. And these people struggling to find money to pay their rent surely don’t have the funds to buy holiday gifts.
As a result, Adopt A Wishlist was established to keep the holiday spirit alive!
This charitable organization is a collaboration between the New Hope-Solebury High School Key Club and Fisherman’s Mark, a private social service agency in Lambertville, NJ. Although originally founded 30 years ago to help children in need living in Philadelphia, this organization soon realized that there were so many people in need right in the New Hope/Lambertville areas, and therefore, this organization evolved to help its local neighbors instead.
Guidance counselors at the New Hope-Solebury school district determine which children in need are selected for the Adopt a Wishlist program. Fisherman’s Mark has its own criteria for choosing which children are selected. This agency recently added some “super seniors” to the wishlist program.
Once chosen, these children and seniors create their own wish lists. According to Robin Hepp, co-chairperson of Adopt A Wishlist, most people “wish” for needs; not wants. “These kids are not asking for iPhones or electronics. Instead common requests from children are for clothing, shoes, and bedding. Seniors often ‘wish’ for pillows, toiletries, and food.”
Beginning this month, wish lists have been posted on Adopt a Wishlist’s website at www.adoptawishlist.com. You choose the person to adopt based on his or her wish list. Once you register, you become the official sponsor of that child/senior and are expected to buy gifts for that person. You can choose to sponsor more than one person if you like. “We recommend that you spend about $175 for each child and approximately $100 for each super senior.
According to Robin, area businesses often adopt several wish lists and then encourage all employees to fulfill these wishes. Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, athletic teams, and churches often do the same.
Adopt a Wishlist is currently able to grant the wishes of approximately 350 individuals.
Sponsors are asked to drop off gifts for kids at the school district to New Hope-Solebury Middle School the week before Christmas. Parents come that evening to pick them up. Anyone sponsoring someone at Fisherman’s Mark is asked to drop those gifts off on December 15 and 16. Parents come that weekend to pick up those gifts for children, and super senior gifts are typically delivered to them.
Sponsors of children are asked to bring unwrapped gifts so parents can see them before they wrap them and give them as gifts. Sponsors are encouraged to wrap gifts for seniors.
New Hope-Solebury High School Key Club members, consisting of freshman through seniors, are like busy elves this time of year. They advertise the event, shop for wish lists that have not been adopted using donation money, and they spend two days intaking and organizing the gifts at Fisherman’s Mark.
“These students love volunteering for this program,” described Robin. “In fact there are never enough slots available for everyone in the Key Club who wants to volunteer.”
“Recipients who have fallen on hard times feel special knowing that people have worked hard to make a difference in their lives, and the students who help feel special knowing that they did something nice for others.”
As a result of Adopt A Wishlist, those people in need who were selected for this program will each receive a gift for the holidays, something they would not have otherwise experienced.
If you want to make someone’s holiday wish come true, visit www.adoptawishlist.com.