Dear Families,
If you're seeking a meaningful way to contribute this holiday season, please consider joining me in donating to assist families in Eastern Massachusetts who are experiencing homelessness. This is my 12th year organizing for Heading Home for the Holidays. I know we all are experiencing the heartache of knowing how many families are in need right now. Heading Home is a Boston-based organization dedicated to ending homelessness, and you can help make the holidays brighter for area families by donating online <https://www.justgiving.com/page/kim-jalet-4?utm_medium=FR&utm_source=CL> and/or purchasing children's books. Heading Home will use donations to buy holiday gift cards for families and provide emergency support where it is most needed. For families in emergency shelter, gift cards offer a sense of autonomy by letting them buy that special toy their child has been asking for, choose favorite holiday foods, or use it for essentials like diapers and warm clothing. These cards empower families and help them enjoy healthy, meaningful holidays together. HOW TO HELP If you’d like to make a donation, please go to our 2025 Somerville Moms AND BEYOND page <https://www.justgiving.com/page/kim-jalet-4?utm_medium=FR&utm_source=CL> and click “Give Now” to make a donation in the amount that is right for you. Please share this fundraising page—we need broad support to reach our goal by December 17th. You may also consider purchasing children's books for Heading Home through wish lists at Amazon <https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/1A9761V5119YT?ref_=wl_share> or Porter Square Books <https://portersquarebooks.com/wishlist/uipichishunam> (PSB) by November 30th. At PSB, you can use the code HEADINGHOME25 for a 10% discount. Amazon books will ship directly to me, and I will pick up books from PSB. If you choose to buy from another vendor, please ship them to me (email me for address). I will deliver all books to Heading Home. THE GOAL This year, Heading Home aims to raise $150,000 to help over 1,000 families with financial support and gift cards. This is an increase over past goals for the Holidays Drive because they are hoping to not only provide gift cards to families but additional emergency support because need has exploded. They are currently helping over 1000 families, or more than 4000 individual clients. This includes 2093 children, the average age of which is 8 years old. I'm hoping to make a significant contribution toward this goal by raising a minimum of $25,000. ABOUT HEADING HOME Heading Home is on the frontlines of fighting homelessness in Massachusetts. Over the last year, they have expanded their programs in response to an unprecedented increase in family homelessness in our state. In addition to their shelter and housing programs, they offer homelessness prevention support, 1:1 case management, career and financial coaching, and clinical support to help clients create futures without homelessness. In FY24, they served a total of 8,462 clients in 3,195 families across all types of programs. What impresses me most about Heading Home is its attention to the root causes of homelessness. You can read more about their impact HERE <https://headinghomeinc.org/about/our-impact/>. In closing, please join me in spreading kindness and showing these families they’re not alone this holiday season. So many donors reach out to tell me that Heading Home for the Holidays has become a beloved tradition for their families - a way to know that they are making a meaningful impact locally. I am deeply grateful for any contribution you make, large or small. Sincerely, Kim (19 Brooks Rd.) P.S. Please like our Facebook page <https://www.facebook.com/somervillemomsheadinghomeholidaydrive/>. P.P.S. A note about receipts for taxes and gift acknowledgements: Money: If you donate via the 2025 Somerville Moms AND BEYOND page <https://www.justgiving.com/page/kim-jalet-4?utm_medium=FR&utm_source=CL>, you will get a donor receipt from them. Please note, I will not have access to the names of anonymous donors until after the drive ends, so your thank you and acknowledgement may be delayed. Books: I will notify you when I receive children’s books from Amazon if you include a gift receipt with your name if I have your email address, or if you email me your confirmation. Porter Square Books does not provide me with a list of donors, so if you want an acknowledgement that I picked up the books, please notify me directly of your purchase. At the end of the drive, I will send in-kind receipts to all known book donors.
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