women handing boxes up to truckElves at work: Volunteers load up gifts for the 2018 Adopt-a-Family charity drive. This year’s collection date is Monday, Dec. 5.

Record response answers call of local families in need

The campus community has come out in force to support the Adopt-a-Family campaign, committing to provide 65 families with gifts to make the holiday season special.

“I’m so moved by the generosity of our faculty, staff, and students,” says organizer Sabina Howell, administrative assistant in Public Affairs and Communications. “This is the most families we’ve ever sponsored in our decades of participating.”

The holiday program of the Windsor-Essex Children’s Aid Foundation solicits donations for local families in need. Sponsors receive a list of wishes for clothing, food, toys, and necessities and then play Santa, spreading joy and hope to children and parents.

There’s still time to sign up, Howell notes: “I’ve had a couple of new volunteers register just now,” she said Tuesday.

Her office in the Welcome Centre is the collection spot for items to be dropped off on Dec. 5. UWindsor president Robert Gordon plans to be on hand from 11 a.m. to noon that day to greet and thank Adopt-a-Family donors with complimentary cookies and hot chocolate.

The foundation advises there is especial need of sponsors for small families and youths living independently and attending school. To register to adopt a family, contact Howell at pac@uwindsor.ca.