Family Y's Men event Sunday
By Becky Barclay
Published in News on December 9, 2016 10:05 AM
For the 15th consecutive year, the Goldsboro Family Y will help needy families in Wayne County.
The Y partners with the public schools, Boys and Girls Club, Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, WAGES, local churches and the domestic violence program for its annual Y's Men event.
It helps local families that don't receive Christmas help anywhere else and who have not been through the program before, said Kriquette Davis, associate executive director of the Family Y.
"We raise funds and the organizations send us referrals," she said.
The event will take place Sunday at 5 p.m. at the Y.
The whole family will go to the Family Y, where the children will do various activities and be treated to a meal by K&W Cafeteria. Volunteers will help with the children's activities and also read them the Christmas story, Ms. Davis said.
Meanwhile, other volunteers will take the children's parents or guardians shopping at Target and Wal-Mart, using gift cards that were purchased with funds that were raised by the Family Y.
The Y's Men program will serve 50 families this year with more than 200 children.
No alcohol or cigarettes may be purchased with the gift cards, Ms. Davis said. It has to be food or clothing or other necessities for the family.
"I noticed through different situations and families coming through the program that toys are great, but a lot just need necessities," she said. "This allows them to get the things they need. And if they have extra money, they also get toys for the children.
"The first year we did the program, I realized that we were touching a need that no one else was touching. I went with a family shopping and they needed hygiene products, toilet paper and clothes -- stuff we take for granted."
Ms. Davis said she's happy that the Y's Men program can provide these things for struggling families.
"It's good we can help make the holidays a little brighter for them," she said. "And it's good for them to be loved on by someone else. We let them know they are not along. They can feel like they are in a no-win situation and no one cares about them. But we do."
And she hopes the program can help each year's participants be better prepared for the holiday season the next year and maybe even able to mentor another family.
"We want to help them not be in the same situation the following year," Ms. Davis said.
A new component to the program this year will be helping 10 of the Y's men program's families, based on what their situation is, throughout the year.
"Since the program started 15 years ago, I've been wanting to move it into February or March," Ms. Davis said. "So many people during that time of year have spent extra money they had on gifts and have high light and gas bills. We want to give them some financial resources to help with these bills and put them in touch with other resources in the community.
"And we want to make sure the children have food in the summer and clothes to go back to school. If they're looking for a church, we want to try to create relationships with others so they can get in touch with them."
Also new with the Y's Men program this year is that all 50 families will receive a year's membership to the Family Y, Ms. Davis said.
"They will have access to programs here that they ordinarily wouldn't have access to," she said.
One family in the program this year has six or seven children, Ms. Davis said. And one of the children has leukemia "We want to make sure this family has the resources they need like staying in the Ronald McDonald House while the child is receiving treatments.
"There are also two little boys who were recently orphaned, and if they need help, we want to be able to steer them in the right direction."
The Y's Men program also gets a name of a family from Home Health and Hospice Care, Inc. each year. Items are purchased and delivered to 3HC to be given to that family.
"A couple of years ago, all that was on the family's list were sweatshirts, sweatpants and socks," Ms. Davis said. "We got the items. He ended up passing away at Kitty Askins and the staff said that just being able to have something to be warm in that was soft and cuddly brought him so much comfort in his last few days. You can't put a dollar amount on that."