The NDA Gives campaign has wrapped up another wonderful year of giving back to the community during the Christmas season.
This is NDA’s 15th year of the campaign, and all 70 of the gift slots were quickly filled with volunteers. NDA’s Student Government works with another Green Bay school that reaches out to several families to put together wish lists for Christmas.
The gifts and items that were brought in will be delivered to the families over three days during finals week. The families are given options based on what days and times work best for them with work and school schedules, so gifts are delivered directly to their front door.
“The families used to come pick them up from NDA, but a few years ago, we started delivering to the homes so there would not be an extra burden of transportation issues or schedules. This removes any stress on them,” said Mrs. Gina Fredrick, coordinator for the campaign.
Delivering the gifts to families is an emotional process, and in doing so can completely make a family’s Christmas season. For many parents, this is the ability to give their children a true Christmas holiday, which wouldn’t have been possible without NDA Gives.
Some families give hand-drawn thank you cards from their kids, and most are astounded by the amount of gifts provided.
“Many of them are just in shock with how much we provide for them. Many other Giving Tree projects stop at one $25 gift, but our tree has several tags for a single person, so it really brings a whole Christmas experience to them, and they are so grateful,” said Fredrick.
Fredrick’s favorite part about the campaign is, by far, delivering the gifts. The joy that she gets to witness on families’ faces is immeasurable. She wishes that she could share this joy with everyone who participated in the campaign.
“If we could record it, I would, so everyone involved with buying gifts could see the joy on the faces and what a difference we truly make for these families!” said Frederik.
Anyone who would like to help wrap gifts is welcome to do so, and the project can always use extra gift bags, clothing boxes, or wrapping paper that is left over or unwanted. Fredrick would like to send a big thank you to the NDA community for making such a difference in these families’ lives.