Thank you to everyone who donated to NIA’s Families Helping Families* holiday fundraiser—it was our most successful holiday fundraiser to date. You’ve made the season a little brighter for six local families. We raised $1,800 on Facebook, $25 via our website, $75 via PayPal, and NIA matched $500 this year, giving us a total of $2,400.

The first family we helped was a 36-year-old single mom with a young son. She was recently diagnosed with a severe health issue while she was between jobs with no health insurance. She had just been released from the hospital after a lengthy stay. We helped her shop for Christmas for her family and took some of the stress, worry, and hardship of mounting medical bills off her mind. She said we were a blessing to her and her son. We were happy to help them in their time of need.

The second family has four kids, one of whom is at Riley Children's Hospital battling cancer. The cancer diagnosis is new, and they are struggling to care for the child and pay their bills. The help we gave them will get them through the holidays without the stress of figuring out how to pay rent and put food on the table.

Our third family, a single mother, worked for a startup company for two months but never got paid. She fell behind on rent while job hunting and faced eviction. We were able to help her make sure her child has toys, warm clothes, boots, and gloves for winter. She said, “This is incredible and amazing and such a blessing. I had no clue how I was going to make Christmas happen for him this year. I am so beyond thankful.”

Our fourth family is a young single mother with five children living in a pretty severe level of poverty. The mother struggles to get help because she can't drive. We took her shopping, and she bought two carts full of gifts for the family. We had so much fun with the mom, and she sent us a message later saying she often feels embarrassed about her struggles, but we didn’t make her feel embarrassed or ashamed at all for receiving help.

The fifth family we helped has five children. Two weeks before Christmas, one of the parents got laid off from their job, so they didn’t think they’d be able to give their kids any presents this year. When we offered to help, the mom and dad were so happy they filled their shopping cart full of toys.

With the remaining $160, and thanks to one member’s generous donation of hats, gloves, and neck warmers to our Resource Distribution Program, we were able to provide hand warmers, toothbrushes, toothpaste, shampoo, soap, combs, deodorant, shaving cream, and razors to make Warmth for the Holidays gift bags for our South Bend houseless family.

This marks the ninth year of our holiday fundraising. Thank you to everyone who donated and shared our 2022 Families Helping Families for the Holidays fundraiser. You've made a huge difference in this time of great need for these families. Happy holidays no matter how you celebrate.

*Belief or lack thereof is never a factor when helping families for the holidays.