Spread Goodwill this Holiday Season through the Gifts of Hope Campaign

Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday. The holiday shopping season is in full swing and many people are looking for ways to balance their hectic schedules, parties, and shopping with acts of kindness or opportunities to “give back”.

For the 25th consecutive year, The Sharon Advocate has teamed up with the Rotary Club of Sharon to conduct the Gifts of Hope campaign. This nondenominational effort brings to light the spirit of the season - a willingness to give of yourself, your time; to share your goodwill with others. The Gifts of Hope campaign spreads this goodwill of Christmas and Hanukkah to needy families and individuals, who often don’t have the wherewithal of buy holiday presents for their children. Later this month, members of the Rotary Club will wrap and hand-deliver bags of toys for children age 10 and under and gift cards for older family members.

Here in Sharon, in recent years, many have made a donation to Gifts of Hope and have added this as a part of their annual gift-giving routine. “We have had kids donate money as part of their holiday gift-giving,” said Jane Desberg, the Gifts of Hope program coordinator for the Rotary Club. All administrative costs for the campaign – postage, envelopes, and gift wrap – are donated by generous local businesses, so all donations by individuals and families to the campaign go to deserving families.

"Their numbers have gone up over the years,” Desberg said. Last year, Gifts of Hope distributed gift cards from Shaw’s to more than 100 seniors and families and brought gift cards and bags of toys to 74 children. Since the program began in 1992, more than 1,200 families and almost 1,300 children have benefited.

This year, many requests for assistance have come in. The Gifts of Hope committee works with town and school administrators, social workers and members of the clergy to identify people in need. Donations are made through the Rotary Club of Sharon Charitable Fund Inc., a registered 501(c)3 charity, and are tax-deductible. To give a Gift of Hope send a check, made payable to the Rotary Club of Sharon Charitable Fund, Inc., with Gifts of Hope in the memo line, to Gifts of Hope, P.O. Box 52, Sharon, MA 02067.

If you know a family or person in need, contact Jane Desberg at (781) 784-2733. The confidentiality of all recipients will be strictly honored.

Any monetary donation to the 2016 Gifts of Hope Campaign – whether it is $20 or $1,000 – will help bring a smile to a child, teenager, neighbor or senior citizen. The names of those who contribute – not the amount – will be published in The Advocate unless the donor wishes to remain anonymous.

Gifts of Hope is not only a year-end activity. A springtime gift distribution is made for the Easter-Passover season, and during the year aid is extended to fire victims and those who struggle to pay heating bills or buy groceries in times of catastrophic illness or other emergencies.

Gifts of Hope is just one of the service projects of the Rotary Club of Sharon, which was founded in December 1941. One of the oldest service groups in Sharon, the club participates in local activities like the Independence Day celebration, Square Jam and the Sharon Triathlon. The club serves a Thanksgiving dinner to Sharon seniors each year, works with the Interact Club at Sharon High School and supports local charities like School on Wheels and the Ilse Marks Food Pantry.

One of 34,000 Rotary clubs around the world – with the motto of “Service Above Self” – the Sharon Club started its charitable fund in 2011 to further its good works, including Gifts of Hope. In recent years, the club has supported a girls’ school in Afghanistan, a water project in Mexico and the worldwide disaster relief efforts of ShelterBox. To learn more about the Rotary Club of Sharon, visit our website at sharonrotary.org or find us on Facebook.