Employees Adopt Families from Catholic Charities Programs

The Accounting Department coordinated a gift drive for residents of Basilica Place Senior Apartments.

Employees of many Catholic Charities departments celebrate the Christmas season of giving by “adopting” a family, client, or program. The Accounting Department at Timonium One coordinated Program Santa, a gift drive they run every year. This year, they adopted ten residents from Basilica Place Senior Apartments.  Staff purchased gifts from the resident’s wish lists. They also raised money with a  bake sale and a 50/50 raffle. Raffle winner Alan Mercer elected to donate his winnings back to Program Santa.  All the money raised was used to purchase the remaining items on the residents’ wish list. There was even  enough money left over for Gloria Oversmith, billing and accounts receivable manager, to make  gift bags consisting of laundry detergent, soap, toothpaste, deodorant, razors/shaving cream for the men and hand lotion for the women.

The Human Resources Department decided to go "shopping" this year through the  Catholic Charities Christmas Catalog. With the money they collected they purchased a variety of different items from  the Catholic Charities catalog including play and sports equipment for children living at St. Vincent’s Villa, a day of respite for a homeless woman and her children at My Sister’s Place Women’s Center, an outing for a Christopher Place father and his child, and many other catalog items.  

The Development and Communications Division, along with the Executive Office at 320 Cathedral Street adopted three families this year.  Two were single mothers with four children each and the third family was  comprised of a grandmother with 3 and 4-year-old  granddaughters.  The group collected enough money to buy all the items on the families' wish lists.

For the second year, employees from the Senior Housing Division adopted a family from St. Vincent's Villa. Barbara Nehms organized  the  endeavor and collected the gifts for the parents and their four children.

The  Community Services staff at 228 W. Lexington Street donated wish list items to the Esperanza Center.  Generous employees  gave needed items like facial tissue, paper towels, toilet tissue, coffee, creamer, sugar, drink cups, post-it notes; dry-erase markers, and 3-ring binders.

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