William Penn Life, 2000 (35. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
2000-12-01 / 12. szám
The Holiday Project A gift from the heart EACH YEAR, MORE THAN THREE million people spend their holidays confined to institutions. Many have outlived their relatives and friends, or for some, those people have moved far away. Life for some of these people is often a lonely experience with few opportunities to make a difference. At the same time, many other people look for ways to make their holidays more fulfilling-ways to return themselves to the true spirit of the season. The Holiday Project provides an opportunity that satisfies both these needs. The Holiday Project is a national non-profit organization of thousands of volunteers who, every year, visit with hundreds of people spending Christmas and Chanukah and other holidays confined to hospitals, nursing homes and other institutions. What makes the Holiday Project so special is that the visitors not only contribute to others, they also allow ÍNMl^oU can do Holiday Project Activities * Visit with people in nursing homes, hospitals and other institutions on Christmas, Chanukah or New Year’s Day. * Make and wrap gifts for those you or others will visit. * Get your service club, social club, branch or class to participate as a group. * Help manage and administer Holiday Project programs in your community. * Contribute money, goods or services. others to contribute to them. Holiday Project visits are an opportunity for people to experience a new form of self-expression that is a gift—a gift we usually deny ourselves. This self-expression reveals our humanity and alters the way we relate to everyone we come in contact with every day. Holiday Project visits not only affect the way we deal with individuals, but also the way we experience and relate to institutions in our communities. It offers insight into a partnership—a shared goal to take authentic action towards improving peoples' lives. The Holiday Project is currently active in 31 cities across America. In each city it coordinates visits with various institutions, recruits volunteers to visit in teams on various holidays, and trains team leaders. The team spends a few hours at the institution ensuring that the residents of the institution are aware that they are remembered. Part of what makes the Holiday Project unique is that team visits almost always occur on the day of the holiday. The idea is that a visit conducted on Christmas Day would have a more positive and profound effect on residents-and visitors-than a visit conducted a few days before or after the holiday. The Holiday Project also organizes school classes to make greeting cards. It makes and delivers token gifts to those in the institutions. It also sponsors fund raising events to support its work. Hl|>l [ Charity Links For more information about becoming involved in The Holiday Project, contact: The Holiday Project 104 Kingsland Road Landing, Nj 07850 Phone: (973) 770-6450 Or, log onto the Internet at: www.holiday-project.org The Impact: "Twelve years ago, I was in the hospital on Thanksgiving Day feeling isolated and lonely. My children were not old enough to drive so they couldn 't come to visit me. My sister’s and my brother's families were both on vacation. Just when I was feeling like nobody wanted to be with me, a group of people that 1 had never seen before walked into my room. They told me they were from The Holiday Project and they had come to be with me for the holiday. They brought me a little brown teddy bear. Three people stayed and talked to me for over halfan hour. “That visit and what those people gave me changed my life. It astounded me that strangers would devote part of their holiday to spend time with people they did not know. Needless to say, I felt wonderful and cared for. When I got out of the hospital, I called to find out how I could join and give something back. I attended a meeting and I became the volunteer coordinator. That year, I talked to over 1,500 people about what I had received and enrolled them in the value of visiting." - Lydia, Detroit, MI 6 William lean l.ifr, December 2000
