Dress Down December Raises $55K For Foster Children

ALPHARETTA, GA — As part of the their annual Dress Down December campaign, 843 employees at Alpharetta-based Jackson Healthcare have donated more than $27,000 to supply foster children with Christmas magic this year.

With a company match, nearly $55,000 total is going to support 434 foster children from five organizations across the metro area: Ark Family Counseling Center/Ricky Homes, FaithBridge Foster Care, Fulton County Division of Family and Children Services, Murphy-Harpst and Project GRANDD.

The program began 15 years ago when an associate collected donations from a few other colleagues, contacted Fulton Charities and was paired with children at Ark Family Counseling Center/Ricky Homes. The donations she collected were used to shop for items on each child’s Christmas list and host a holiday lunch at the home.

In order to grow donations the following year, program founders decided to ask associates to contribute $1 for every day in December they wanted to wear jeans. The associates brought that idea to company chairman, Rick Jackson, who liked it so much he agreed to match whatever was raised dollar for dollar — and the current Dress Down December was born. The program is a key pillar in Jackson Healthcare’s LoveLifts community impact programs, which focus on children’s wellbeing and access to healthcare.

Jackson Healthcare states that in the last five years, voluntary donations have amounted to about $250,000 and thousands of children and families have received gifts.

In keeping with tradition, Jackson Healthcare employees do all the gift shopping and wrapping, and the company hosts a lunch and a party at Jackson Healthcare’s headquarters for several of the participating organizations.

Images via Jackson Healthcare