This year has created immense stress and increased financial difficulties for families in our community. Oakland Family Services’ Adopt A Family program has received holiday wish lists from 226 families in need, which include more than 530 children.

Unfortunately, our Adopt A Family program is also seeing a decrease in donor enrollment due to financial strain caused by the coronavirus pandemic. We have a large gap between the number of families who are waiting to be adopted and the number of committed donors, leaving many wish lists unmatched. Without your help, these families will not be able to purchase gifts for their children.

Make the holidays magical for a family in need by signing up to adopt a family at www.oaklandfamilyservices.org/adopt-a-family or by contacting Nikki Serra at nserra@ofsfamily.org or (248) 858-7766 ext. 1218. You can also contribute to the program without adopting an entire family by donating at www.oaklandfamilyservices.org/buildbrighterfutures.

For the safety of everyone involved, we are asking donors to purchase gift cards in lieu of presents this year. This will allow families to purchase gifts in the manner of their choosing. After you have been matched with a family, you will receive a family profile and wish list that suggests which stores to purchase gift cards from for each family member.

Each family will be assigned a family code to maintain client confidentiality. Donors are asked to label each gift card with both the family code and the first name of the recipient, then place each family’s gift cards together in an envelope labeled with the family code.

Gift cards can be mailed Attn: Nikki Serra, Oakland Family Services, 114 Orchard Lake Road, Pontiac, MI 48341. In order to give families enough time to purchase gifts using the gift cards they receive, we ask that gift cards be mailed to us by no later than Friday, Nov. 20.

Gift cards can also be dropped off to our Pontiac office and left in the black locked mailbox outside of the Orchard Lake Road entrance to the parking lot. The deadline to drop off donations is Wednesday, Dec. 2.