While 2020 has brought many changes, volunteer organizers and supporters of the campus Adopt-A-Family campaign are confident that the UWindsor community will pull together to make this year’s charity drive as successful as always.

The University has a long-standing tradition of bringing together faculties and departments to donate to the Windsor-Essex Children’s Aid Foundation’s Holiday Program, which collects gifts and goods for more than 700 local families and youth living independently.

Mike Fisher, manager of web services and systems support, and Meagan Haugh, marketing co-ordinator for Continuing Education, serve on the foundation’s board of directors. They are encouraging staff and faculty to continue their involvement with the charity.

“The campaign will be organized differently this year, however its impact will be all the more meaningful to those families that benefit from the generosity of our Lancer community,” says Haugh.

Current restrictions make campus-wide collection of physical items in impossibility, but Fisher notes there are plenty of other ways for teams to carry on the tradition.

He suggests:

• donating directly online to receive a tax receipt;
• collecting group funds that would have otherwise been spent on a team holiday luncheon or gift exchange;
• making a special request to sponsor Continued Care Support for Youth, older teens who have aged out of foster care, but are still supported by the agency while living independently; or
• shopping from home using the online registry at babiesrus.ca, no. 61899781.

Individuals and teams may also request an Adopt-A-Family registry to purchase items or gift cards for direct delivery to the Children’s Aid Society offices. Contact holiday_program@wecas.on.ca or phone 519-256-1171, ext. 2540, indicating the size of family your team would like to sponsor.

All shipping and deliveries can be sent to:

• Windsor Essex Children’s Aid Society
  Attn: Holiday Program
  1671 Riverside Dr. East
  Windsor, ON  N8Y 5B5

“Let’s continue to show our community that we are Windsor Proud and make this a banner year for the Adopt-A-Family holiday campaign,” Fisher says.

For more information, contact meagan.haugh@uwindsor.ca or visit www.wecaf.on.ca.