News

Filling many a hope, need and dream—Adopt-a-Family 2020

Just as we savor wonderful memories of Christmas long past the holiday season, here at the Leprechaun Foundation we are still talking about our Adopt-a-Family program for Christmas 2020. This is such an important lifeline for many of our families with chronically or terminally ill children.

Many of these families experience multiple hardships while caring for a very sick child. In the past one family became homeless shortly before Christmas after a fire destroyed their home. Frequently in a single-parent home the caregiver loses their job because they are spending too much time at the hospital instead of at work. Many of our single parents earn minimum wage and are only able to provide the basic necessities.

This past Christmas our families’ stories were especially poignant with widespread job loss, Coronavirus infections and deaths, and a general sense of despair. Not only did parents and caregivers ask for necessities such as food, gas money/bus tickets, winter boots and coats but so did the children! Even The children asked for food!

Our donors did their best to supply sheets and blankets, pots and pans, boots and shoes, socks and pajamas. Items often taken for granted became gratefully received holiday gifts. Every family is given a gift card to a grocery store to help lessen food insecurity for a couple of meals.

Our donors don’t forget the kid in everyone. They were busy buying toys for the children: learning games for toddlers, dolls for girls, trucks and cars for boys, and Legos for everyone! Board games, puzzles, books, movies, and video games were also purchased. What a great way for our families to recharge and refresh through some leisure time.

Our donors did a fantastic job of shopping early for these families. The wrapped gifts were kept in quarantine for 3 days before they were safe to distribute to the families. They shopped for 10 families from Rainbow’s Sickle Cell Anemia Department and 17 families from MetroHealth. This past Christmas shined a little brighter for some families, and we have you to thank for that!