You may still be recovering from your turkey coma, but several local nonprofits are sponsoring holiday drives designed to help you get your elf on for those in need.
Emerge! Center Against Domestic Abuse has kicked off its annual holiday house, an event that provides free holiday βshoppingβ for participants in a βstoreβ stocked with new toys, makeup and toiletries, sports items, electronics, household items and gifts donated by the public.
Donations will be accepted from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays through Dec. 14 at Emerge! Center Against Domestic Abuse administrative offices, 2545 E. Adams St.
βMothers go through and pick out items for their children and kids pick out items for their mothers and other family members. ... The idea is that these families should be able to celebrate the holidays the same as any other family. The fact that they have experienced domestic violence and left their homes and often their belongings behind β and often their connection to income as well β doesnβt prevent them from being able to celebrate the holidays,β said Ed Mercurio-Sakwa, CEO of Emerge, which served about 5,900 victims of abuse and their children last year.
Mercurio-Sakwa said while Emerge welcomes both men and women, about 95 percent of those who access services are women.
βThe scary part is that this is the tip of the iceberg. Research shows that only one in 10 cases of domestic violence gets reported, and that is just the number that reach out to us ... so this is a very small percentage of the overall problem, unfortunately,β he said.
Mercurio-Sakwa is promoting the wide range of assistance and support available at Emerge, including a 24-hour bilingual hotline (795-4266) for crisis intervention, safety planning or help in supporting a loved one, emergency shelter, goal-planning assistance, survivor support groups and childrenβs services, and referrals to other agencies. It also provides lay legal advocacy, including assistance in obtaining orders of protection, referrals to lawyers and legal clinics, victimβs rights education, court preparation, safety planning around court proceedings and accompaniment to court.
For victims struggling with the repercussions of domestic violence, the holiday house provides a sense of normalcy, according to Mercurio-Sakwa. He said it is particularly poignant for children.
βTheir lives have been turned upside down, so it is even more impactful for them to receive these presents and to be able to open presents for Christmas or the holidays like their friends at school,β he said.
Gift cards, blankets sought
Another holiday drive seeking to gift comfort this holiday season is the Youth On Their Own Spread the Warmth Campaign.
The goal: To collect a $25 gift card and plush blanket for each of 1,300 homeless and near-homeless middle school and high school students by Dec. 9; currently the tally stands at no gift cards and less than 300 blankets.
βWe are confident we will get there, but we need to generate some buzz,β said Daniel Armenta, YOTO director of philanthropy.
Armenta said the drive began several years ago with gift cards upon the realization that the majority of students served by the nonprofit didnβt receive any holiday gifts.
βA gift card is nice because they can use that for items they need, but last year we added a blanket and the students really enjoyed them.
βI think it is a personal connection that has real impact: Even though the students might not know the person, they know that there is someone out there who has taken the time to bring in a blanket for them. That is a huge deal for these kids,β Armenta said.
