RRWC President Gayle Coe (left) and Community Relations Chair Nanci Odom with the gifts for Friends of the Family Adopt-a-Family program
Sharon Foy
The year 2020, a year we will not forget on so many levels. A year in which it would be so easy to just give up. Not these ladies! When our charities needed them the most, they stepped up with a willing heart and a determined spirit to achieve their goals. I could not say it better than this letter from Chairperson Nanci Odom to her many members after the very successful Friends of the Family Adopt-a-Family program.
Generous volunteers …
Once again, you exceeded all expectations, this time by adopting 58 children for the Friends of the Family Adopt-a-Family program. And, you did it in record time, receiving your child’s wish list the day before Thanksgiving and nine days later, we delivered all the gifts to Friends of the Family. Thank you to Julie Eaton and Donna Gardner for creating our caravan to deliver the gifts. And, thank you to those who donated monies for others to use for shopping.
In the end, 48 of you community relations members and several board members, together with 32 of your friends, adopted 58 children. That compares to 24 children last year. We also received 12 generic mom gifts.
Jan Utzman, with her usual big-hearted leader spirit, organized 27 of her local sorority sisters, book club members and other Robson Ranch girlfriends. Together, they adopted 20 older children.
In total, we adopted 30 older children, 13- to 18-year-olds. For this age group, gift cards were requested with Old Navy, GameStop, Walmart, and Target being most popular.
I know the rest of you enjoyed shopping for the 28 younger children. As you dropped off your gifts, I saw clothes, rain boots, gloves, winter coats, books, games, dinosaurs, dolls, arts, crafts, soccer balls, Legos, writing notebooks and pens, a skateboard, a Spider-Man comforter set and for some patient mother, a karaoke microphone!
During this season of giving, in a year like no other, for children living with domestic violence, I know you share my gratitude for being in a position to bring hope and happiness to these deserving children.
I wish all of you and your families a joyous and healthy holiday season, as we anxiously await 2021! And, I look forward to all the good works we’ll embrace as a Robson Ranch Women’s Club committee in the new year. Please stay safe.
To all the volunteers that worked so hard for this most worthy cause and gave so generously, a job well done!