‘Hope for the Holidays’ getting underway soon

INDIANAPOLIS — The upcoming holiday season may still seem far away, but the preparations are in full swing to make sure everyone has the chance to celebrate this year.

Starting in the first week of November, Firefly Children & Family Alliance will help fulfill holiday wish lists across the state.

“You know, there’s so much that we see on a daily basis that can be very heavy,” said Joli Heavin, the vice president of development with Firefly Children & Family Alliance. “We work with families who are going through some of the darkest moments of their lives and this I think is just one of the wonderful examples of how we can bring light and hope to them during those dark moments.”

The holidays are made brighter through the group’s Hope for the Holidays campaign.

“Hope for the Holidays is by far my favorite aspect of my job because we are able to connect community members with families in need to help fulfill their holiday wish list,” Heavin said.

“One of the unique things about our program is that it helps children from infancy through 23-year-olds because we work with a lot of youth who are aging out of the foster care system and we want to make sure that their holidays are just as bright as the little kiddos that we serve as well.”

The annual campaign brings holiday cheer to newborns, teenagers, and young adults all over Indiana. That includes 22-year-old Micah Forrest, who is in Firefly Children and Family Alliance’s older youth services program. Micah and her 2-year-old daughter Treasure both had their wish lists fulfilled last year.

“She was still able to get gifts like anybody else during the holidays and I was able to still kind of treat myself in a time of, you know, a downside,” Forrest said. “I feel like a lot of kids are really appreciative of it.”

Last year, Hope for the Holidays helped support more than 1,300 children.

“For some of those kiddos, it may be the first time that they’ve really woken up and been able to see presents underneath a tree that have their name on them,” Heavin said.

Many wish lists are already written for this year ready to be fulfilled but the impact goes far beyond the toys, games and books wrapped under the Christmas tree.

“I feel like as far as kids that are in the system, I feel like it’s important to them just because they know that they have that form of love from someone who isn’t technically their family, but they’re still getting, you know, that love and the support that they need,” Forrest said.

A typical wish list is $150. Both individuals and corporations can sponsor a child. Monetary donations will be accepted as well. 

“We have a lot of people that will work together as families or with their church or community groups or their place of business to sponsor multiple children,” Heavin said. “They just need to fill out the form. It’s a simple online form and they can go shopping which is always the fun part and they can either deliver those gifts to us in person during a designated drop-off period which will be from December 3rd to December 16th or they can even choose to ship their gifts directly here.”

The wish lists will be up on the website starting in the first week of November where people who are looking to donate can read the story about the child they are giving to and the impact they will leave behind. 

“We’ve seen a growing need for basic necessities like clothing, coats, things that they want for the winter,” Heavin said. “I would say we still see a lot of the things like Barbies and Hot Wheels. Minecraft is always big, so it really runs the gamut.”

The hope is to serve even more kids this year leaving behind holiday memories that will last a lifetime.

“That’s what this season is all about is our community coming together to make sure that people know that they’re not alone and that they can get through these trying times,” Heavin said.

Again, the campaign officially kicks off in the first week of November and the nonprofit needs the community’s help to make the holiday magic happen.

To learn more about Hope for the Holidays, click here. To learn more about Firefly Children and Family Alliance, click here.