Department of Family Services – Children, Youth and Families

CONTACT INFORMATION: Monday–Friday 8 a.m.–4:30 p.m.
703-324-7500 TTY 711
12011 Government Center Parkway, Pennino Building
Fairfax, VA 22035
Oriane Eriksen
Director

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Adopt-A-Family Holiday Program

two adults holding giftsWhat is the Adopt-A-Family program?

The Adopt-a-Family Program was developed to help children and families who are in need of clothing, food and toys for the holidays. Every fall, the program begins taking donations to support families who are working with Fairfax County Department of Family Services, Children, Youth and Families Division. The program matches generous donors with identified families to make their holidays more joyful. 

With the help of the community, this program has expanded its mission since its inception in 2006. Volunteer & Partner Services works within the community to help these families in times of need, not just during the holiday season.

Thanks for your interest. Continue reading to learn how to adopt a family. Check back in September 2024 to adopt a family.

variety of wrapped holiday giftsIf your family, business, company, organization or faith-based group is interested in helping to support a family experiencing difficult times during the holidays, this might be the program for you.

Please consider Adopting-A-Family today to help make their holidays brighter!

Make an impact and help families at the holidays or any time of the year by making a monetary contribution or providing gift cards for food, clothing, toys, new baby items, etc.

To get involved, contact the the Volunteer and Partner Services Supervisor by email.

two message dialog boxesIf you, your family, or your organization want to adopt a family, follow these steps: 

  1. To become an Adopt-A-Family donor, fill out the Adopt-A-Family Donor Form.
    • Include your name, organization/company name, email, phone number, and mailing address.
    • Indicate the number of children you would like to support in your adopt-a-family (plan to purchase about four to five gifts per child in addition to winter clothing).
    • You can also buy something for parent(s)/caregiver(s) (a gift card to a big box store is recommended).
       
  2. We will email to you the information for your specific adopt-a-family, including: 
    • first name of each child, their age(s), clothing and shoe size(s). If clothing is not noted on the form, that means they would prefer a gift card to pick out their own clothing.
    • each child's wish list.
    • their referring worker's name and phone number.
    • the office address where you can ship or drop off gifts.
       
  3. Please do not wrap the gifts, but, if possible, donate wrapping paper for the family to wrap their children's gifts.
     
  4. At least one week before the delivery date, connect with your Adopt-A-Family's referring worker to coordinate a mutually convenient shipping delivery date or drop off date/time.
     
  5. Deliver the unwrapped gifts or have them shipped to the referring worker by Friday, Dec. 8, 2023. Please do not deliver gifts to the family's home.

2023 Adopt-A-Family Stats

 

 

 

 

 

 


GENEROUS DONORS SPREAD HOLIDAY CHEER!

Our 2023 Adopt-A-Family Program has outdone itself! Thanks to our 529 donors we brightened the holidays for 729 families and 1,394 children this season! This was a record-breaking year for our program in the way of gifts, clothing, toys, necessities, and cheer!

This year we asked for feedback about the impact of donating and your responses were overwhelming:

One private donor explained, “I adopt with a group of friends, and we all pitch in to cover a few children, but we try to make it a really generous gift, so we include gift cards above the gifts they ask for.  We love this tradition.”

A school donor shared, “Thank you for meeting the students and I yesterday to receive our school's gift donations. The children had a lot of fun participating in this service project! Please keep us in mind for next year.”

One gracious family expressed, “Thank you so much for arranging this program. We are so happy to participate every year. We purchased a bike as the big-ticket item - I hope the family has a happy holiday.” 

Another donor remarked, “We had a great time shopping for fun toys and were happy to provide the family with a new car seat that will last for years to come. Thank you for organizing such an important program!”

One company described their rewarding experience, “It was such a pleasure to participate in the Adopt-A-Family program again this year. We adopted one large family collectively. The employees bought gifts, and then our company matches contributions. We included a gift for the caregiver and present wrapping supplies as well. This brought us all such joy!” 

Thank you to each and every one of you who adopted a child and family in need this holiday season. You made a huge difference in their lives. Your generosity is inspiring, and we appreciate all that goes into making this program a success. You can learn more about the 2023 program.

donated gifts on table

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