Human Services
You Can Be a Secret Santa This Holiday Season!
How to be a Secret Santa…Mail or hand deliver gift cards to: Individual cards should not exceed $50, but you can donate as many cards as you like. Cards may be designated for a particular beneficiary group or left undesignated. Include the value of the gift card (if it's not printed on the card), a return address so we can acknowledge your gift, and a beneficiary designation if you choose one. Please submit cards by Dec. 19. Late-arriving cards will still be accepted. We welcome donations from individuals, businesses, and groups. Questions? Contact Kurt Larrick at 703-228-1775.
Thank You! |
Helping those in need
This program makes the holidays a happier time for more than 1,000 of the community’s most vulnerable residents:
- Children in foster care (Arlington has nearly 100 kids currently in foster care)
- Low-income families (4,263 Arlington families receive food stamps)
- People with disabilities (more than 300 individuals receive services through Arlington's Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Services Bureau every month)
- Low-income older adults (more than 1,000 older adults seek assistance every month at the Department of Human Services)
Gift cards empower
Please consider donating gift cards that can be distributed to some of the community's neediest people:
Children in Foster Care: Existing resources don’t even begin to meet the needs of foster children, generally one of the neediest populations.
- A good winter coat could consume half of the state subsidy a child in foster care receives each year.
- Your contribution of a gift card will help bring a happy holiday to these deserving kids.
People with Disabilities: Residents with intellectual or developmental disabilities or mental illness face employment obstacles and stigma that limit their earning power.
- Giving a disabled person a gift card they can use to purchase items of their choosing provides an empowering experience.
Seniors with Low Incomes: County nurses and social workers care for many older adults in the community whose conditions make it difficult for them to leave their homes. Many of these seniors have medical needs and very low incomes.
- The Secret Santa program prioritizes seniors who are very poor or have no family in the area.
Families with Low Incomes: To qualify for federal benefits like food stamps, a family of four living in Arlington must make less than $29,064.
- Sounds impossible — yet more than 4,263 households in Arlington receive food stamps right now.
Recommendation:
- Consider gift cards from nearby department stores such as Target, K-Mart or shopping mall gift cards that can be used at local malls.
- For low-income families, choose gift cards from local grocery stores.
- Gifts cards should not exceed $50 each, but you can submit as many as you like.
Interested in exploring other ways to help those in need this holiday season? Visit the Arlington County Volunteer Center website at:
