Now in its ninth year, Washington University’s Give Thanks Give Back campaign again will help make the holiday season brighter for needy St. Louis area families.
The annual event begins at 10 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 8, with a kick-off party at Ursa’s Cafe in the South 40. In addition, students will be manning tables and handing out information outside the Danforth University Center from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 13, and Wednesday, Oct. 14.
“Give Thanks Give Back is a fun and affordable way for students, faculty and staff to help out the St. Louis community during the holiday season,” said senior Lynn Wilkie, a psychology major in Arts & Sciences and co-chair of this year’s Give Thanks Give Back student group.
Give Thanks Give Back supports a group called “100 Neediest Cases,” a joint project of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and the United Way. During the holiday season, the 100 Neediest Cases identifies more than 10,000 cases of St. Louis-area residents struggling to overcome poverty.
As the holiday season approaches, the newspaper publishes the personal case stories of 100 families or individuals. Although each of the 10,000 cases will receive some assistance, only a small percentage of families are “adopted,” meaning that an individual or group agrees to buy gifts, clothing, household appliances or other requested items for the family.
Members of the University community normally adopt around 120 families each year, which amounts to more than 300 individuals.
“All of these families live in the area and have fallen on hard times due to a layoff or injury,” Wilkie said. “We connect students and faculty to the families who need assistance, and then the sponsors go shopping for clothing, household supplies or educational toys, depending on the needs of the family.
“It’s a great way to locally make a difference in someone’s life, and we are always amazed and inspired by the generosity that the University shows every year,” Wilkie said.
University groups or individuals can begin adopting families following the kick-off party. Gifts are due by Nov. 13, and soon after gift-wrapping parties are scheduled to prepare the donations for individual recipients.
This year, gift-wrapping events are scheduled from noon-5 p.m. on two consecutive Saturdays, Nov. 14 and Nov. 21, in Umrath Lounge. Volunteers are always welcome and needed to help wrap gifts.
The program has a history of success at the University. The Office of Student Activities became involved in 1998 when staff members adopted a single family. By 2001, the effort had evolved into a campus-wide program called Give Thanks Give Back.
In 2002, the University community adopted 83 families. In each of the past six years, Give Thanks Give Back has adopted more than 100 families.
For more information or to volunteer to help, e-mail gtgb@sugroups.wustl.edu or visit sugroups.wustl.edu/~gtgb.