Wrapping-Up the Holidays for Families in Need

This year, OTA's Irvine Center Administrator Kimberlee Schultz, teamed up with OTAF's Senior Legal Manager Louise Serero to deliver and wrap presents for families and children in need through Project Hope Alliance; a nonprofit organization that seeks to end the cycle of homelessness, one child at a time.

"We were able to deliver quite a few toys," says Kimberlee. "We even had a student donate 25 items directly from Amazon to Project Hope Alliance’s door."

This year, Project Hope debuted a brand new hope for the Holidays program! They transformed their on-site pantry into a Santa's workshop. The shelves were stocked full of toys, games, books, and more for our kids. Then, they invited the parents to "shop" their workshop, and find the gifts they know their child will love while still providing gifts at no cost to the children. The goal: to empower parents with the dignity and power to choose gifts.  

"Each family selected 4 presents per child for free, and the team wrapped them so they would be ready for Christmas when they walk out the door!" says Kimberlee. "Louise and I were blessed to arrive when a family was shopping for their children. We were able to wrap a few presents for them and then place our donations throughout the shelves for the next round of families to shop. We feel very honored to be part of serving the families, especially the kids!"

Since 1989, Project Hope Alliance has developed and successfully implemented programs that address the unique issues facing homeless children which prevent them from realizing their full potential. Their unique and personalized programs empower children with not only hope, but give them the tools they need to help them complete their education and ultimately help them succeed in life. They pride themselves on a more holistic approach to solving challenges and address all aspects of life: educational, psychosocial, functional, spiritual, developmental, and financial. In other words, the alliance provides the kind of care that we would want to give to our own children.

If you would like to learn more about Project Hope Alliance, here is the link to their website:  https://projecthopealliance.org/