Holiday Programs
“Dear Santa”
How it works:
Sometimes an unexpected life event causes expenses to surge. Even when those circumstances are short-term, the struggle can quickly snowball and begin to affect all parts of daily life. This holiday, we want to help those families facing these situations by reducing some of that stress. We want to bring a little holiday magic to their days.
UWGH works directly with our community partners, local businesses, and other non-profits in Darlington County to identify local families who are struggling this holiday season.
We then work to meet the greatest needs of those families through donated services, partnerships with local organizations, donated new and gently used items, and community giving.
We try to meet these needs anonymously whenever possible.
The gift should be a holiday surprise. It is a miracle of the season, created by the community around us.
Needs we’ve been able to meet:
In the past, we’ve met needs, big and small. We’ve done things like:
Providing beds to children or families.
Giving grocery cards to a family struggling with food insecurity.
Helping to cover the cost of prescription glasses for a child.
Covering the cost of a utility bill with the help of local organizations.
Providing donated gifts for the children in the house (to be opened on Christmas morning).
Donating a gently used Christmas Tree.
Providing coats or shoes.
Replacing a broken or needed household appliance (especially refrigerators) through donations or the help of local organizations.
Donating living room furniture or a dining table to families who have none.
These are just a few examples; so many more needs have been met through this program.
Who makes it possible:
We’ve all heard the saying “It takes a Village”, and that could not be more true when it comes to this program. This program requires generosity from our community members who are able to help.
We utilize new and gently used donations to meet needs, from furniture and appliances to toys, coats, and more.
Our community partners, local businesses, and fellow non-profits help by providing financial support, services, and goods to meet needs, from paying utility bills to household repairs and providing new appliances or other much-needed items.
And we use monetary donations from our neighbors and friends to help cover the cost of grocery cards, beds and bedding, gifts for children, and to help cover any other needs we can meet.