WESTAMPTON — For more than 50 years, the Burlington County Times has been helping families in need during the holidays.
In 2020, the Give A Christmas program is back for yet another holiday season.
The BCT and its partner in the effort, NJ 211, a nonprofit organization that helps people find community resources for life’s most basic needs, will begin accepting financial donations and applications for assistance on Monday. This year’s initiative will run from Oct. 19 to Nov. 20, ending just in time to give families their gift cards to go holiday shopping.
County residents in need should text GAC to 898211 to “go through the process of checking eligibility,”. Eligibility is based on income and recipients may include, but are not limited to, parents with sick children, single family households, people who are struggling with addiction and people who are unemployed. The effort should be more important than ever this year, given the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and the uncertain state of the economy, said Melissa Acree, the executive director of NJ 211.
“People are in dire need,” she added.
Donations will go toward $50 Walmart gift cards. A family can receive one gift card per child and a maximum of four gift cards. If a family has less than four children, the parents can also receive one gift card between them.
“We selected a store that has a variety of items,” said Acree of the Walmart choice. “From electronics to clothing to toys.”
Last year, 1,166 Target gift cards worth a total of $58,300 were distributed to 329 county families. The effort was aided by the first-time participation of NJ 211 and its simple, straightforward text code. For the GAC program, the texting platform will direct eligible residents to an online application.
The nonprofit uses the same text code to help residents around the state with housing, food and transportation needs, among other necessities. But even during the GAC application process, the service will remind users of the assistance that NJ 211 provides by simply texting your zip code to 898211 for assistance, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. “Our service is available year-round, not just at Christmas time,” Acree said. “Residents can also search our online resource database found on the NJ 211 website”
John Emge, longtime local, regional and now national United Way executive connected the BCT with NJ 211 in 2019. He believed that the nonprofit’s mission aligned perfectly with the Give A Christmas program. It would allow residents to not only receive assistance during Christmas, but assistance year-round with connection to wide array of essential programs.
The GAC initiative started in 1968 and has raised more than $3 million in that time. In its best years, the campaign has raised as much as $100,000.
For the second year in a row, the Ellis Family Charitable Foundation, founded by the family of former owners of the BCT, has made a donation to help offset the additional cost incurred by NJ 211 for the seasonal help needed to conduct this program.
“The Give A Christmas program has helped thousands of families over the years due to the generosity of our readers,” said Audrey Harvin, the BCT’s executive editor. “There is quite a bit of behind-the-scenes effort that goes into coordinating the program, managing donations and getting help to those that need it most. Our partnership with NJ 21- has made the process more efficient and offered families access to additional resources not only during the holidays, but throughout the year.” Anyone interested in making a donation should visit www.burlingtoncountytimes.com/giveachristmas.
A local news and sports reporter around Pennsylvania and New Jersey since 2015, Jarrad Daniel Saffren joined The Burlington County Times’ award-winning local news team in October 2019, adding business, education and town government features to the coverage. Contact him at jsaffren@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @JarradSaff. Please help support local journalism with a subscription to The Burlington County Times.