Coastside Hope Adopt-a-Family

Each year, our Adopt A Family program provides gifts of new clothes, toys, food, and other items to approximately 320 low-income households. During the 2022 Christmas season, the Adopt A Family program served 355 low-income households totaling 888 people. This includes 153 seniors and 467 children. This wonderful program is entirely volunteer-run and community-funded.

Over the years, the program has become an opportunity for many people in the community to share in the holiday spirit by sponsoring, or adopting, families or seniors. For many local families, wrapping gifts at adopt-a-family is a cherished family tradition going back decades. Those who first volunteered as kids are now bringing their own children to wrap gifts, and volunteer openings fill rapidly each year.

Get Involved!

There are several ways to be a part of this program. You can:

Adopt a family or senior and purchase items according to a profile which includes their essential needs. We recommend spending approximately $60 to $70 per family member. During designated dates (late November to early December) you deliver all your gifts to our site at 214 Harvard Ave in Princeton.

Volunteer time as part of our Adopt a Family elf program. As the gifts of clothes and essentials arrive, volunteers ensure a bright Christmas by filling out each family’s gifts with new toys, books, and games.

Shop for an entire family or senior on behalf of a sponsor. Or shop for toys, games, and other items which are used to fill out each family’s gifts.

If you would like to adopt a family but may not have time to shop, a volunteer will do the shopping for your adopted family in your name. You may send a check for the items purchased to: Coastside Hope Adopt-a-Family, PO Box 1089, El Granada, CA 94018.

For further information about sponsoring a family, donating, or volunteering, call Judy O’Leary at (650) 273-3967 or email adoptafamily@comcast.net

Eligibility and Registration

Registration of eligible low-income families and seniors for the program takes place in October. If you think you or your family might qualify for the program, please call us at (650) 726-9071 the first week of September to make a registration appointment. To qualify you must be low-income and live on the San Mateo County mid-coast from Montara to Half Moon Bay.

Special Delivery

Adopt A Family All Year Long Through The Power of Special Delivery!

Many of us may take for granted the availability of personal and household items, such as soap, shampoo, laundry detergent or toilet paper. It’s hard to imagine that for some these items are a luxury. Special Delivery is a very special program that provides local families in need with those basic household necessities. A sponsor family “adopts” a needy family and commits to shop once a month to provide basic necessities for their recipient family. The shopping list consists of items that aren’t readily available through food programs, items that most of us take for granted items like shampoo, laundry detergent, toilet paper and other costly household items. The financial commitment is approximately $40-$60 per month. If you’d like to learn more, please contact Christina@coastsidehope.org

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