Donate to Fremont's Giving Hope Holiday Program

FREMONT, CA — Holidays are supposed to be a time of joy and celebration, yet for some people they are anything but. The truth is that November and December is very hard on some of the most vulnerable in our community—those seniors, families, and youth who are socially isolated, in the midst of a crisis, and experiencing severe poverty.

Giving Hope is a reminder that our community cares:

Giving Hope is intended to help raise the spirits of community members in need by providing gifts and grocery cards to help lift the spirits of children, seniors, and families who are struggling. The program also provides low-income seniors with supplies and treats for their much loved furry and feathered companions. Also, every effort is made to make sure that children and students supported by the program have the learning supplies they need to succeed.

Help us make the 2016 effort a success:

Giving Hope is a community partnership with the City of Fremont Human Services Department. City staff identifies people in need of extra support and cheer, and creates wish lists for each individual and family identified. Then the community donates the funds and resources and time to provide the much needed items. For donors, and everyone involved in the effort, it is a great ‘feel-good’ opportunity to help others who are in desperate need of support and cheer.

Giving Hope shows the neediest in our community that they are not forgotten:

This program is unique. For nearly 20 years, every dollar raised and every gift donated has gone directly to help someone in need—there are no added administrative costs. The program started as a City of Fremont giving program, with City employees reaching into their pockets each winter to provide funds used to buy grocery cards for local seniors in need. In 2009, support grew and pushed the program to a new level by also recruiting donors from the local community, businesses, and organizations. The added resources allowed the program to begin serving families, seniors with pet companions, and children and teens.

Additionally, fundraisers like the Niles Crab Feed and Niles Oktoberfest, along with generous donations from the business community, have allowed Giving Hope to grow each year. Last year, we raised more than $75,000 in cash and gift donations!

Giving Hope needs donations of cash and gifts, as well as people to sponsor a senior or family:

Giving Hope donors help in many ways. Some donate cash. Some organizations sponsor a family or multiple families. Some businesses create gift baskets for a group of seniors. Currently, Giving Hope needs it all.

You can help by encouraging your family, friends, business, and organizations to sponsor a senior or family. Contact Jane O’Hollaren, Fremont Family Resource Center, at 510-574-2026 or JOHollaren@fremont.gov, or Monica Dominguez, City of Fremont Senior Services, at 510-574-2057 or Mdominguez@fremont.gov for a description of the need and a personalized wish list. Purchased gifts and grocery gift cards should be returned to the City of Fremont’s drop off spots by December 9, 2016.

All donations are tax deductible, and in January the City of Fremont will send letters of gratitude acknowledging all donations. For more information about the Giving Hope program and what was raised last year, visit www.Fremont.gov/AboutGivingHope. To make a monetary donation online visit, www.Fremont.gov/HSDonate or send a check made payable to: City of Fremont, Giving Hope Holiday Program, Human Services Department, 3300 Capitol Ave., Building B, Fremont, CA 94538.

Announcement, photo submitted by City of Fremont