Batavia United Way brings community together for holiday donation drive

Batavia community volunteers packed hundreds of boxes full of Christmas presents and delivered them to students in Batavia Public School District 101 this week, which Batavia United Way executive director Kathy Evangelista said reflects the good will and generosity of the community.

Boy scouts with carts raced to greet cars with trunks full of gifts. They helped to unload the items in the parking lot of the Batavia VFW Post 1197, before running the carts back inside to unload and be ready for another trip.

Inside, the hall was brimming with donations and buzzing with volunteers diligently sorting. Hundreds of boxes full of donated items, racks of coats, pajamas, and other clothes, along with bicycles, toys, games and electronics were carefully accounted for and distributed over the three-day event.

The holiday drive is part of Batavia United Way’s annual Adopt-a-Family program, and organizers said this year’s was the biggest ever, serving over 150 families and providing presents to 340 students.

The Batavia United Way is a nonprofit that supports Batavia community members in the areas of education, health and financial stability. Each holiday season, they work in collaboration with the Batavia Public School District and other community organizations to organize the Adopt-A-Family program.

District staff, counselors and social workers identify families in need, with students ranging from early education to high school. Staffers help those families create wish lists which are then sent to Batavia United Way. The United Way matches the wish lists with sponsors who have signed up to provide holiday gifts for those families.

Over 120 sponsors dropped off gifts and over 70 volunteers helped unload, sort and pack the items over the three-day drive. In addition to the community members’ support, several local businesses sponsored families and collected items for the program, including the Rotary Club, Aldi, Boy Scout Troop 12, the Lions Club, the Batavia Women’s Club, CHIP IN Batavia and many others.

Evangelista said the program has been running for over a decade, and has grown significantly since its first year, when it served 30 families.

Each sponsor agrees to cover one wish list, which ranges from $100 to $150, though some organizations sponsor several students or families. Evangelista said the number of items each student receives depends on their age, their needs and what they asked for on their wish list. She said they try to focus on essentials like coats and warm clothes, but also try to make sure the kids get some fun items to open on Christmas.

Evangelista said the high school students often need more expensive items, so they may receive fewer larger gifts, whereas the younger students may receive several toys and smaller gifts. With over 1,000 items donated, they make sure every student gets what they need.

Each family also receives a gift bag of basic-needs items and essentials, boxes of cereal and a grocery gift card, and every student will receive a stocking filled with goodies – all made possible by donations from local organizations.

BPS community outreach coordinator Amy Nelson said the most amazing part of the program is how many community members and organizations come together to make it possible.

“That’s what’s unique about Batavia,” Nelson said. “When people hear that others need help, they’re ready and willing to lend a hand at a moment’s notice.”

Evangelista became emotional talking about the responses they receive from families that benefit from the program. She expects to get teary-eyed many times before the holiday season is over from seeing the way the community comes together to show their support.

“Every year it gets to me, just seeing the generosity of our community, stepping up to fill that need,” Evangelista said. “It’s just amazing to see that happen, when there’s so many things you see in the media and all over social media that focus on the not-so-nice things, and the real world, at least here in Batavia, is way better than what you see on social media. It’s just so giving. We’re very blessed to be in this community.”

Nelson said to some families, the donations mean everything. She said some are going through hard times and need a little assistance, and in other cases the families may be homeless or refugees spending their first winter in Illinois, and don’t have coats or warm clothes.

“It’s really special to see how much it means to the families,” Nelson said. “Especially the teenagers – for them just to know that someone they don’t even know cares about them is amazing.”

Evangelista said even through the sponsors and donations are all anonymous, each year she gets countless thank-you cards and emails from families afterwards, which she passes on to the corresponding sponsors.