Chandler Holiday Assistance Programs

[A copy of the flier is on Lucy's and Desi's desktop - from Lilia Gonzalez from Chandler Housing & Redevelopment Division]
The following is a flyer meant to assist you in knowing where to refer families who are in need of holiday assistance and for the Chandler community to provide donations and assistance:

Chandler Christian Community Center: (480) 963-1423
345 S California St, Chandler 2008 Operation Santa Registration
Limited to Chandler children 17 and under. Cannot register at another location also. Must bring birth certificates, proof of address and proof of income for all members of the household. Although people are very generous, not ALL families will be adopted, but ALL THE MINOR CHILDREN will receive gifts. Sign up dates are as follows..
October 29, 1pm-3pm, October 30, 1pm-3pm November 5, 9-11am, November 6, 9-11am, November 12, 1-3pm, November 13, 1-3pm, November 18, 9-11am, November 19, 9-11am, November 20, 1-3pm

Kyrene Family Resource Center: (480) 783-3172
1330 East Dava Drive, Tempe AZ
Assist families whose children attend schools in the Kyrene School District. Adopt a Family program available. Contact Roxanne Richardson: rricha@kyrene.org
Donations accepted and registration for assistance now until December 18th.

Salvation Army Chandler Corps: (480) 963-2041
Christmas Assistance Registration-85 E. Saragosa St., Chandler
Christmas 2008 Applicants must be residents of Chandler, Gilbert, Higley, Queen Creek, or Sun Lakes sign up dates are as follows: November 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 18, 20, & 21 9:00am -1:00p.m. Applicants must bring a birth certificate for each child in household, picture ID for all adults, proof of current address, proof of income and proof of expenses. Donation needed for the holiday season include hygiene kits, food for the food bank, diapers, Thanksgiving Dinner needs. Contact for additional donation items needed and a variety of volunteer opportunities!

St. Vincent De Paul, St Mary’s Church: (480) 814-7778 Call for specific program dates and criteria. They are interviewing existing families to determine eligibility.
Boys and Girls Club: (480) 899-8302 Will assist 30 families that have children that are current boys and girls club members. Families have already been registered.

Chandler Cap Office: (480) 963-4321 Registration ended on October 22nd, 2008. Families who attend workshops will be able to earn tickets to purchase gifts for their children for Christmas.

Community Information and Referral: (602) 263-8856 Call 7 days a week 24 hours a day. Information and referral line to various social service agencies including holiday assistance programs.

St. Andrews Church- Assisting headstart families this year. Families must have children attending Headstart program.

A & A Cottages: (480) 792-0265
Assists young moms, teenage girls, and foster families. Donations help foster children in group homes, transitional homes and teenage mothers with infants in transitional housing. Donations needed for the holidays are gift cards (retail), sheets and towels, Adopt a Group Home, infant items. Donations accepted until December 12th. Contact Dorothy Corey at 480-792-0265

Advocates for the Disabled: (602) 212-2600
Assists individuals with disabilities and homeless. Donations needed for the holiday season include food (for the Emergency food pantry), cases of bottled water, new socks. Donations are accepted November through January. Contact Sherry Whitener.

Center for Prevention of Abuse and Violence (CASA): (602) 254-6400
CASA “Adopt a classroom” Holiday Gift…
For as little as $100 ($8.34 per month) you can prevent sexual abuse before it happens and STOP the abuse from continuing by funding a Casa abuse prevention program to an entire classroom of nearly 30 children. Statistically, there are as many as 7 children in each classroom who will be molested an average of 8 years. Your donation means Casa can save hundreds, hopefully thousands of children in the next year. Last school year, as a result of Casa’s prevention programs in schools, 18 children disclosed to Casa they were being sexually abused, and these cases were turned over to police. Help Casa identify and help many more children this Holiday!

A New Leaf: (480) 792-0265 A New Leaf provides homeless families with children temporary shelter. Donations needed for the holiday season include grocery store gift-cards for the Holiday Meals program, retail gift cards for families to purchase clothes, necessities, underwear & socks, full size hygiene items, new towel sets, twin size sheets and blankets, sweatshirts & bottoms, jackets, board games, books, diapers, baby wipes, umbrella strollers, high chairs, portable cribs and learning activity toys. Contact Heidi Anderson for a complete list. All items need to unwrapped and delivered by 4 p.m., December 8th to 845 E. University Dr. Mesa, AZ 85203.

Chandler Fire Department Christmas Program
This program is for Christmas time only and not ongoing through the year. The CFD assists families whose names come via Chandler School District (Susan Horan). The CFD assists approximately 100 families each year. The CFD does not do sign up via phone calls or walk-ins.

Hamilton High School: (480) 883-5182
Hamilton High School adopts needy families with children that attend the school. Donations needed this holiday season include clothing, grocery gift cards, toys for younger siblings and teenage items. Contact Dia Mundle for more information. Donations accepted until December 12th.

Hartford Sylvia Encinas Elementary: (480) 812-6723
The Friends in Need program at the school helps families throughout the year with emergency needs. Currently, this program has 19 families needing assistance this holiday season. Donations needed include basic needs such as food, clothing, towels, cleaning supplies and toys. Families can also be adopted or donations are accepted. Please contact one of the following staff for further information: Eileen Carey (480) 812-6723 carey.Eileen@chandler.k12.az.us, Maria Doom (480) 812-6767 doom.maria@chandler.k12.az.us, Juanita Vasquez (480) 812-6751 vasquez.Juanita@chandler.k12.az.us.

Save the Family: (480) 898-0228
Save the Family provides assistance for homeless families. Families can be adopted for the Thanksgiving and/or Christmas season. Please contact Tim Lidster (480) 898-0228 ext 245 for more information and deadlines.

Neighbors Who Care: (480) 895-7133
Neighbors Who Care offers assistance to the elderly and homebound with meals and transportation assistance. Donations needed this holiday season are gas cards from Safeway. All donations will go towards the grocery van, which transports clients to the grocery store for food.

My Sister’s Place: (480) 821-1024
My Sister’s Place provides domestic violence victims and their children with safe shelter, meals and basic needs for 30 – 45 days. The Christmas program relies solely on donations. A list of specific needs is available by contacting Peggy Dudinyak at 480-821-1024.

*Please let families know they can only sign up at one location since Chandler agencies will be sharing client names on one central list to avoid duplication of efforts.