Community Volunteers-- Wonderful Project

I got an email from a Round Lake Resident Kristin Albrecht a few days ago about a project she and her husband do in the community and I was very impressed by the thoughtfullness and dedication that went into what they do. What follows is the text of her email.

I saw your post about the Avon Township Food Pantry. I was wondering if you would be able and/or willing to help further by highlighting a little project my husband and I started in 2001 to anonymously adopt needy families. Our story is this . . .

“Following the 9/11 attacks and other personal tragedies that year, my husband and I decided to begin a new tradition of giving at the holiday season. Instead of giving insignificant gifts to our adult friends and relatives, we decided to use the money we would have spent on those gifts and give instead to children of less-fortunate families. Our first family adopted in 2001, consisted of two young children, ages 9 and 5, who were living with their maternal grandparents. The children’s parents had been lost to the war on Iraq and Afghanistan following the 9/11 attacks. They had come to live with their grandparents in the suburbs of Chicago following their parent’s deployment to the war. Our gifts to the children consisted of clothes, toys, and school supplies. Our gifts to the grandparents consisted of gift certificates to local grocery stores, clothes, and a gift certificate for an evening out including a babysitter for the children.

That was our first real year of experiencing the joy of giving. Since then, our tradition of anonymous giving has grown to include seven other families who take pleasure in the gift of giving. The 2005 holiday season saw our little group of eight anonymous families adopting three families from the area who were less fortunate. In today’s world, it is easy to lose sight of the true meaning behind the holiday season. Rather than asking for more, imagine the world if more people began to appreciate what they already have, and give back to those in need. Imagine a world where more people looked outside their own little world to help those less fortunate. Image a world of peace, understanding, and tolerance.”

Anyway, that’s our story . . .
We adopt families from the Avon Township Food Pantry. As you know, the families are already screened and determined to be underprivileged. We remain anonymous but try to do more than just a few gifts for the children. We try to make sure the entire family is supplied with food, clothes, and other necessities for the holiday season.

My husband and I cannot afford to do it all on our own so after our first experience in 2001 we began recruiting friends to join us. We now have 8 families (including ourselves) who participate in our “Adopt-A-Family” annual project. We are expanding this year to try to recruit outside our small circle of friends in order to provide to more families.

We are looking for participants who can help us . . .

• Raise donations for food, clothes, or other necessities for our adoptive families.
• Donate food, clothes or other necessities.
• Make pick-ups from area businesses who have committed to donating to our little project.

We are looking for participants who are interested in experiencing the joy of giving to those less fortunate.

Let me know if you would like more information or to talk on this further. Kristin can be contacted here!