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2023: Have you applied for Give a Christmas? There’s still time

Over 150 families have applied for this year’s Give a Christmas program. Were you one of them?

If not, don’t worry. You still have time.

As of Nov. 8, NJ211 has received 160 eligible applicants for its holiday assistance program in Burlington County, but the deadline to apply isn’t until Dec. 1.

Who can apply for Give a Christmas?

Give a Christmas applications are open to low-income families living in Burlington County with children.

Low-income is defined as 200% of the federal poverty level, which is $60,000 for a family of four this year.

How to apply for Give a Christmas

Applicants can either visit The Burlington County Times’ website for more information or apply via text, by sending “GAC” to 898-211.

From there they can answer the screening questions and receive a link to the online application.

Families should be prepared to present proof of residency, income and family size.

Donating to Burlington County families

Donating to the Give a Christmas program is simple, easy and open to everyone.

Click here to donate online. To donate by mail, click here to download the coupon. Donations received after December 25 will roll over to next year’s program.

For questions about the Give a Christmas program, email Executive Editor Audrey Harvin at aharvin@gannett.com.

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2023: How to apply for Give a Christmas

Partnering yet again with NJ211, the Burlington County Times is bringing its Give a Christmas Program back for the 55th year to help low-income families this holiday season.

Through community donations, the program assists families with their holiday shopping through $50 Amazon e-gift cards, capped at $200 per family.

Who can apply for Give a Christmas?

Give a Christmas applications are open to low-income families living in Burlington County with children.

Low-income is defined as 200% of the federal poverty level, which is $60,000 for a family of four this year.

How do I apply for Give a Christmas?

Applicants can either visit The Burlington County Times’ website for more information or apply via text, by sending “GAC” to 898-211.

From there they can answer the screening questions and receive a link to the online application. Families should be prepared to present proof of residency, income and family size.

When will I receive assistance?

The e-gift cards are to be distributed to approved applicants via email by Dec. 8.

Important dates and deadlines

The application deadline for this year’s program is Dec.1.

While applications are only open to Burlington County families, there is no deadline for donations, and they are welcomed from anyone regardless of location. Click here to donate online. To donate by mail, click here to download the coupon. Donations received after December 25 will roll over to next year’s program.

For questions about the Give A Christmas program, email Executive Editor Audrey Harvin at aharvin@gannett.com.

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2023: The Give a Christmas program is back to assist Burlington County families

Give a Christmas is back for 2023, marking its 55th year of helping Burlington County families in need celebrate the holidays.

The Burlington County Times and NJ211, a 24-hour nonprofit referral service connecting people in need with important resources, have teamed up once again to make this season a little bit brighter for families near you, and you can help.

What is Give a Christmas?

Give a Christmas is an initiative that runs every year between the Burlington County Times and NJ211 to provide monetary assistance to Burlington County families over the holiday season, thanks to donations from community members like you.

“The Burlington County Times is proud to kick off year 55 of the Give a Christmas program. The program has helped thousands of families over the years due to the generosity of our readers,” said Audrey Harvin, Burlington County Times executive editor.

Last year, the program was able to distribute 1,586 gift cards totaling $79,300 to 497 applicants in Burlington County.

Who can receive assistance?

The application deadline for this year’s program is Dec.1, and low-income families with children under 18 in Burlington County are welcome to apply.

Each child in the applying family is eligible to receive a $50 Amazon e-gift card, capped at $200 per family, explained NJ211 Chief Operating Officer Kevin Donahue.

Low-income is defined as 200% of the federal poverty level, which is $60,000 for a family of four this year.

While applications are only open to Burlington County families, there is no deadline for donations, and they are welcomed from anyone regardless of location.

Donahue said that this year Give a Christmas is starting with about $2,500 worth of donations that rolled over from the past year.

How to apply for Give a Christmas

Applying to receive assistance through Give a Christmas is simple and easy.

Applicants can either visit The Burlington County Times’ website for more information or apply via text, by sending “GAC” to 898-211.

From there they can answer the screening questions and receive a link to the online application.

Donahue said that families should be prepared to present proof of residency, income and family size.

Applications must be completed by midnight on Dec.1.

Where to donate for Give a Christmas

Donors can visit The Burlington County Times’ website to submit their donation for the Give a Christmas project.

“I anticipate the need to be greater this year given the economic climate. That’s why this program is so important. It helps provide gifts for children during the holidays and eases the financial stress for parents,” Harvin said.

For questions about the Give a Christmas program, contact Executive Editor Audrey Harvin at aharvin@gannett.com

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2022: Still time for Give a Christmas donations and needy family applications

As the 2022 Give a Christmas campaign to help struggling families enters its fourth week it is evident by the requests for assistance that community need is greater this year than in 2021.

Applications from needy families seeking donations the public makes to the program, sponsored by the Burlington County Times and the nonprofit NJ 211 social services agency, are outpacing last year’s responses at this point in the campaign.

“We’ve received 349 applications from Burlington County families compared to last year at this time when we had only 205 applications,” Kevin Donahue, NJ 211 chief operating officer, said at the end of last week.

The latest jump in the number represents a 71 percent increase in applications.
“So, we’re seeing many more families in need this year. I imagine that is reflective of wider economic factors. Across New Jersey the cost of basic necessities like food and housing keeps going up, and that squeezes the budgets of low-income families,” explained Donahue, who had predicted there would be an uptick in applications this season.

“We’re relying on the generosity of donors to get Christmas gifts to these families, because there really is so much need out there.”

NJ 211 will be taking applications until Dec. 5. That leaves two more weeks for families to apply.

This year the gift certificates will be in the form of $50 Amazon e-gift cards.
“We’re hoping to send out all the Amazon gift cards by mid-December,” Donahue said.

Meanwhile, donations are being received but are lagging behind last year’s giving. As of Friday, the donation total had reached $4,230. Last year the program distributed $60,000 in gift cards to more than 300 eligible family applicants.

So what did parents buy for their children last year? Popular items were stuffed animals, board games like Monopoly, dolls, LEGOs, toy trucks, and dolls.
Cherae Brown of Beverly, a disabled mother of five, has re-applied for the gift certificates this year .

“Its getting a little rough because prices are up and Christmas is right around the corner,” said Brown, who lives in low-income housing and is on a monthly Social Security disability check and has trouble walking and standing.

“The father of four of my children is absent in their lives and pays no child support, so I am thankful I have my Mom and friends and my older kids help out at home with the chores.”She said among the gifts she bought with certificates last Christmas were a Nerf toy and Monopoly game.
“My kids just love Monopoly,” she added.

She wanted to remind the public that a lot of people have “different situations,” including being a single parent like her, and don’t have the money to buy their kids gifts and that depresses some parents and some children, she explained.

“Some kids try to be happy even if they don’t get anything or much at all.”

I am really happy that my kids are thankful for what they get. It may be the smallest thing, but they say, ‘Mommy, oh thank you, thank you!’”

Donations this year will be distributed to needy families with children up to 17 years of age with a maximum of four gift cards per family.

Whether one can afford only a few dollars or $50 or more, all donations will help. Donations received after Dec. 25 will be applied to next year’s campaign.

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2021: Give A Christmas helped family welcome adopted son, buy gifts despite hardships in 2020

This time last year, despite battling the hardships of the pandemic, Ronald and Sarah Garrett adopted a 12-year-old boy into their family. The Give A Christmas program helped them give him and their other three children presents come Christmas morning.

“It really helped out, especially last year with COVID and everything,” said Sarah Garrett. “We had COVID around Christmastime, so we couldn’t even really spend Christmas with (our children) because we had to quarantine.”

“And five days before that was our daughter’s birthday, so we couldn’t even spend her birthday with her either,” she said.

Throughout the year, the family faced numerous financial hardships since Sarah stopped working to homeschool their four children, and Ronald cannot work due to a disability.

Through the Give A Christmas program, they were able to buy their newly adopted son clothes and their daughters LOL dolls, slime and some clothes as well.

Ronald’s advice for those seeking assistance from the Give A Christmas program this year?

“Don’t be afraid of asking for help,” he said. “A lot of people are, but you should never be afraid to ask for help.”

The Burlington County Times’ annual Give A Christmas program helps struggling Burlington County families celebrate the holidays by providing them with gift cards to purchase presents.

With the help of the Times’ partner organization, NJ 211 — a nonprofit that connects people with community resources that provide living necessities — applying for assistance is easier than ever.

Burlington County residents who require assistance can text GAC to 898211 to check their eligibility. Eligibility is based on income and recipients may include, but are not limited to, parents with sick children, single family households, people struggling with addiction and people who are unemployed.

Applications for assistance will be accepted through Nov. 21. There is no deadline for donations.

Anyone interested in donating can do so at www.burlingtoncountytimes.com/giveachristmas.

For questions about the Give A Christmas program, contact Executive Editor Audrey Harvin at aharvin@gannett.com.

Aedy Miller covers education and the economy for the Burlington County Times, Courier-Post, and The Daily Journal. They are a multimedia journalist from Central Jersey and a recent graduate of the George Washington University.

Help support local journalism with a digital subscription.

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2021: Give A Christmas program gives more than financial support, it gives hope

Open your refrigerator. Go ahead, I’ll wait.

OK, what do you see? Milk? Juice? Fruit? Vegetables? Eggs? Cheese? Chicken? Steak? More? A food repository teeming with nutritional goodness.

Now, open your cupboard. You know, the one above the bread box housing sliced, Italian, rolls, maybe some doughnuts. I’m certain there’s a logjam of canned fruits and vegetables, packets of rice and beans, boxes of pasta and cereal, peanut butter, cookies, chocolates, coffee, tea, and more.

Now, look at your mail. Lots of bills, right? Bills you can afford to pay, right?

Now, I’d like you to imagine a home with a near-empty fridge and cupboard. I’d like you to imagine hunger and need among too many of our neighbors. I’d like you to imagine their empty shelves, broken appliances, broken toys, and broken dreams.

Now, what I’d like you to do is reach into your heart with one hand, and into your pocket with the other. All you have to do is give; we’ll do the rest.

The Burlington County Times’ Give a Christmas program kicked off recently. For 53 years, the BCT has coordinated a fundraiser that assists needy families during the holidays. The coronavirus pandemic has impacted everyone in some way over the past 17 months, but none so devastatingly as those who were struggling to make ends meet even before then. Lost jobs, reduced wages, reduced work hours, and higher prices at the store and the gas pump. Needy families needed your help before. Now, they need just a little bit more.

Your generous donations will be distributed in the form of $50 Walmart gift cards, with a maximum of four gift cards per family, and will begin reaching those families the week of Thanksgiving.

The Times has partnered again with NJ 211, a nonprofit that links needy folks with community resources that provide living necessities, much like the food items in your bursting fridge and cupboard.

County residents interested in benefiting from the program can text GAC to 898211 to learn if they qualify. Eligibility is based on income, and recipients may include, but are not limited to, parents with sick children, single family households, folks with addiction, and the unemployed.

A few years ago, after I had written a column urging folks to donate to Give a Christmas, I encountered a living, breathing Scrooge. He used raw numbers to try to convince me there really isn’t much need in the county. Said the poverty level in America is about 12 percent, twice that of the county, which is true. Said the need here isn’t great.

Scrooge offered raw numbers. I did the same.

“I agree the poverty level here is lower than across the country,” I told him. “Let’s say it’s only about 6 percent.”

He nodded.

“OK, do you know how many actual people that is? How many moms, dads, and children in need? How many elderly folks living alone on fixed incomes in need? It’s about 25,000 people living in poverty. Basing your opinion on a single digit percentage doesn’t come close to telling the entire story. There’s not much hunger and need until it’s your belly that’s growling and your door the bill collector is knocking on.”

He got into his Lexus and drove away.

Don’t do what he did. Don’t drive away. Don’t turn away. One of the best things you can do for our needy neighbors this holiday season is also one of the best things you can do for yourself: Give generously.

It will fill their need.

And your heart.

Phil Gianficaro, a columnist for the USA TODAY Network, can be reached at 215-345-3078, pgianficaro@theintell.com, and @philgianficaro on Twitter.  

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2020: What can Give A Christmas recipients buy with $50 Walmart gift cards?

Donations are under way for the Burlington County Times’ 2020 Give A Christmas campaign, and this year’s money will be put toward $50 Walmart gift cards for families in need.

For eligible county families, two parents can receive one gift card between them and each kid can get his or her own, up to four cards per family, according to Melissa Acree, the executive director of NJ 211, the nonprofit organization that coordinates the program with the BCT.

At Walmart, the affordable superstore, $50 can go a long way, and $200 can go a really long way. Below, we examine just how much your donations may be able to help area families this holiday season.

Practical household items

At Walmart, a family can basically use $50 to make a room in its house or apartment fully functional.

A quick perusal of the Burlington Township Walmart prices, for example, shows that customers can purchase several cookware sets for less than $50. They are also able to find food storage container sets for less than $20 or less than $10.

Now let’s say a family has multiple children, and it wants to do what great American families do after dinner: plop down on the couch and watch television. With three or four $50 Walmart gift cards from Give A Christmas, a family can bring a living room together by purchasing a nice television. The Lumberton Walmart has several TVs available for less than $200, some for lower than $150.

Families can even find beds, nightstands and dressers in the same affordable, $50-$200 range.

Your donations this winter could help bring a family home together, according to Walmart prices at local stores.

Fun items for the kids

Does a family’s daughter or son like to play with dolls? Or maybe its child prefers toy trucks? Or perhaps the family has multiple kids, and one likes the dolls and the other the trucks?

Sets of both are available at the Cinnaminson Walmart, for example, for well under $50 combined.

If a kid is a gamer type, the Cinnaminson Walmart has many options for less than $25, including Minecraft.

If a child is a bundle of energy, basketball nets, backyard soccer sets and other small, beginner sports equipment can be purchased for way less than $50. A parent can probably buy several sports sets with one gift card.

And if a kid likes to read, a parent can basically buy a children’s library with a $50 gift card, with children’s classics like “Goodnight Moon” and several Dr. Seuss titles available for single-digit prices.

Your donations this winter could help a family buy gifts for kids interested in all different kinds of activities.

Give A Christmas has been helping families in need during the holidays since 1968. It helps hundreds of families each year. Eligible recipients include, but are not limited to, parents with sick children, single parent households, people who are struggling with addiction and people who are unemployed.

The BCT is accepting donations until Nov. 20 at https://stories.usatodaynetwork.com/burlingtonchristmas/.

County residents in need should text GAC to 898211, NJ 211’s communication line for this effort, to see if they are eligible to receive gift cards.

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.