New Yorkers Bring Christmas To 25 Families Devastated By Pandemic

NEW YORK, NY — A few weeks before Christmas, Leslie Jirsa posted a question on her Bed-Stuy neighborhood Facebook group — did anybody know a family in need she could help this holiday?

Responses quickly flooded in, but instead of suggestions, neighbors asked if they too could chip in.

Around the same time, a borough away, a group of Queens neighbors were struggling with a similar "adopt a family" idea in what was once New York City's coronavirus epicenter. Their group, COVID Care Neighbor Network, had no shortage of families in need — 1,000, to be exact — but weren't sure if they'd have the bandwidth to pull it off.

That is, until the two connected.

"We were going to put it on the back burner," said Dawn Falcone, explaining that COVID Care was already running a coat drive, toy drive and its food pantry.

"I got an email [about] Leslie and I said, 'Wow, this is exactly the program I wanted to do.' Now, Brooklyn and Queens are working together. It's all hands on deck."

Two weeks, dozens of volunteers and several shopping trips later, the inter-borough collaboration delivered Christmas — a tree, decorations, gifts and a holiday meal — to 25 families' doorsteps this week.

The deliveries came after the group found someone to partially or fully "adopt" each family on the list, which was narrowed down from a list of the 1,000 families the Neighbor Network has been serving since starting their organization in March.

With extra money raised to cover those who were partially adopted, each family was given everything from a gift wishlist — plus extras — a tree, decorations and a Christmas dinner in the form of groceries or a gift card.

Each delivery was a bright spot for families who have been among the most devastated by the coronavirus crisis, the women said.

"It was really hard to narrow it down to 25," Falcone said.

All 25 on the list are getting their food only from food pantries and most don't qualify for help like rent relief or unemployment, she added.

That devastation was laid bare in many of their wishlists, which included items like children's warm boots, grocery basics like salt and pepper, or baking supplies for a family who had started selling food on the streets of their neighborhood to get by.

"These people are very hardworking — they're used to working two to three jobs apiece. To suddenly have nothing, they're doing everything they can," Falcone said. "We don't want them to feel bad, we just want to let them know they're not alone. We know this is a Band-Aid, but we're trying to give them one day of joy."

That joy isn't only reserved for the families receiving the donations.

Falcone and Jirsa both said the "Adopt a Family" program became its own Christmas miracle for everyone involved.

"Everybody has felt connected and so grateful to be able to do something — to have some hope," Jirsa said. "A lot of people aren't able to travel to be with their own families, so to do something like this is a real gift for the people giving as well."

That sentiment was perhaps most evident for the only one of the 25 families without children — an elderly widow who asked only for someone with whom she could spend the holiday. Falcone was able to connect her with a friend who usually travels to Puerto Rico for the holiday, but couldn't this year.

"He is an amazing cook and baker — he is going to cook Christmas dinner and spend it with her," she said. "He felt like this is a gift [for him]."

Falcone and Jirsa said their own hopefulness comes from watching friends and neighbors step up without hesitation — a local Spanish teacher who lent her skills to talk to the families, a donor's daughter using her savings to help buy presents for one of the family's triplets, or friends who stepped up to drive the donations cross-borough through Christmas Eve.

Given the level of kindness in just a two-week rollout, their hope is to extend the "Adopt a Family" program to even more families next year. The need is there in many of New York City's neighborhoods, it was only a matter of already knowing who needs help, they said.

"In such a traumatizing year, being reminded of how incredibly generous people are has been an amazing shot in the arm," Jirsa said.

"Even after what we’ve experienced, we all need hope," Falcone added. "It’s because people have been so generous for so long — that's what’s keeping us going."

Those interested in donating to the COVID Care Neighbor Network, which is under the organization Together We Can, can click here. Donations made through Christmas Day will go to the Adopt a Family program.