The holidays are on the horizon and Tucsonans seeking to spread seasonal cheer while social distancing can drop off a $25 gift card at Emerge! Center Against Domestic Abuse Administrative Offices, 2545 E. Adams St.
โOur annual holiday house will be a drive-thru event this year. Normally we create a store-like environment and people donate items so participants can shop for their kids. With the drive-thru event, our participants can pick up gift cards and shop at their own discretion in terms of where they feel comfortable โ either in stores or online. This allows them to choose what they like for their kids but prevents them from coming into a group environment to get the gifts,โ said Ed Mercurio-Sakwa, CEO of Emerge! Center Against Domestic Abuse.
The nonprofit is requesting gift cards in denominations of $25 to five local retailers: Target, Walmart, Amazon, Dollar Tree and the TJX family of stores. It hopes to collect cards for at least 200 families, many of which have multiple children.
Mercurio-Sakwa said the pandemic has created increasing hardships for those experiencing domestic violence, which appear to be on the rise in spite of a decrease in calls to the 24/7 multilingual hotline (1-520-795-4266 or 1-888-428-0101) during initial stay-at-home orders earlier this year.
