SAUGUS — From now until the end of the year, the Home for Little Wanderers is collecting gift cards as part of its annual Big Wishes gift drive.
Sponsored by Citizens Bank and TJX, which will match dollar for dollar up to $10,000 in donations, the organization has held the drive for more than 30 years as a way to help children in the welfare system feel loved during the holiday season.
“This year is especially difficult for so many people, especially the kids and families we work with who were already facing socio-economic challenges before the pandemic,” said Lesli Suggs, the organization’s president and CEO. “The holidays should be a time of joy and happiness for a child. Donating a gift card is about more than giving a child a toy. It helps kids understand that there are people in the world who love and care about them.”
With 11 headquarters throughout the state, including Boston, Brighton, Roxbury, and Somerville, the Home for Little Wanderers is the nation’s oldest child welfare organization, serving children and youth from birth to age 22.
Each year, the Home works with more than 14,000 kids and their families from across Eastern Massachusetts through a network of behavioral health services, therapeutic residential treatment centers, special education, adoption, and foster care.
This year, however, In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, communications director Alicia Curran said the Home will only be collecting gift cards to help families and program staff purchase gifts for children in the organization’s care, and it has whittled down the number of state-wide Bernie and Phyl’s Furniture Store drop-off locations to six.
“This year is obviously a little bit different,” Curran said. “Normally what the Home does is put out a list of gifts folks can buy and bring to different drop-off locations all over the state. Because of the pandemic, though, they aren’t collecting physical gifts this year, so they’re collecting gift cards, and I know Bernie and Phyl’s has been a wonderful partner in being willing to continue to serve as a drop-off location.”
The Home recommends donating gift cards from locations such as TJ Maxx, Target, Stop & Shop, Amazon, Best Buy, CVS, and Walgreens.
In addition to donating a gift card, there are several other ways to participate in the drive, including fulfilling an Amazon Wishlist, buying a gift card to fulfill a request by a specific child, or making a cash donation.
“It takes a village to raise a child, and we are lucky to have the Saugus community as part of our village helping us make the kids in our care feel special and loved,” Suggs said.
More information about the drive is available online at www.thehome.org/bigwishes.
Gift cards can be mailed to: The Home for Little Wanderers, 10 Guest Street, Floor 3, Boston, MA 02135, or dropped off at a participating Bernie and Phyl’s location, including the one at 901 Broadway in Saugus.
Elyse Carmosino can be reached at [email protected].
