Adopt-a-Family Stratford returns for fifth year in lead-up to Christmas

Pictured, Michelle Jackson, Dan Woods and Ashley Jantzi, the organizers of the annual Adopt-a-Family Stratford program, are hoping locals will give generously this holiday season in support of local families in need.

For the fifth year in a row, Stratford and area residents will have the opportunity to help a local family in need this holiday season through the Adopt-a-Family Stratford initiative.

First started in 2020 as a gift-giving program for families struggling during the pandemic, Adopt-a-Family Stratford evolved last year to provide low-income families with gift cards to local businesses donated by area residents and businesses to help them purchase groceries, gifts and other items on their holiday wish lists. The program will remain largely the same this year with one exception; both the registration process for low-income families and the process for sponsoring those families has been moved online.

“Last year, we streamlined to completely gift cards for a personal item and a grocery card (for each family) because physical gifts just required so much space for storage, and we just don’t have that space because this is a program we run on our free time,” organizer Ashley Jantzi said. “We also … decided to make registration an online link so it’s a little bit easier for families to register. There’s no printing off the paper and filling it out and then emailing it back.

“It’s a little bit more streamlined and we’re finding a few little issues, but we’re kind of working it out as we go along.”

As part of the registration process for families, which is open until Dec. 2 and available at https://tinyurl.com/45nffdhk, families must submit their 2023 income-tax notice of assessment or tax forms to prove their low-income status.

“They need to be official Government of Canada tax forms. We have a threshold of what is low income based off of the government, so we base it off that. Unfortunately, we have actually had to decline a few families because they make too much money,” Jantzi said. “It’s sad, but it does happen. That’s the whole reason why we do the tax returns is because then we actually know that this family, who only made $5,000 last year, actually needs the help versus a family that made $70,000 last year.”

Adopt-a-Family Stratford does not accept applications to the program made by others on behalf of a family; a member of the family must register for the program themselves. The program is completely anonymous and no information is shared with those who sponsor participating families other than each family’s preference for which businesses they’d like to receive gift cards for.

With both returning and new families already registered for this year’s Adopt-a-Family program, Jantzi is encouraging locals who have a little extra to give this holiday season to consider sponsoring the purchase of a gift cards and grocery cards for those families. To sign up as a sponsor, visit https://tinyurl.com/bdh4y67m.

While there is no official end date to sign up as a sponsor at the moment, updates on this year’ Adopt-a-Family Stratford program will be posted to the organization’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/groups/397697831623202/.

Those interested in either registering their family for the program or becoming a sponsor can also email adoptafamilystratford@gmail.com for more information.

“With the economy, everyone is feeling the pinch. … Our program is really a to-Stratford, love-Stratford program,” Jantzi said. “It’s all locals, it’s all (gift cards to) local businesses, it’s all local families. It really is a truly community program like what you used to see 30 years ago, which you don’t see anymore.”