Captain Guidelines
Rock a Family’s World (And Your Own) By Adopting a Family
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These are families who would have no basics (food, clothing and sometimes shelter) and certainly no gifts. The names come from Cesar Chavez High, Valley High School, Willard Intermediate, James Thorpe and Adams Elementary in Santa Ana, Dana Hills in Dana Point, Las Palmas in San Clemente and OC Access. Typically there are several children and sometimes one parent, and rarely two. Each family has a child in the Orange County school system.
Team Effort
You don't have to shoulder this responsibility alone; the key is to involve as many people as possible. Consider building a team with ten or more individuals and assign each of them to take care of one child or adult from the family you are supporting.
Those who are unable to contribute their time can still be valuable by donating money towards a grocery gift card. On the other hand, those with available time but limited financial resources can be recruited to assist with shopping, organizing, and wrapping the gifts.
You can explore various avenues to engage others, such as getting your entire office involved by adopting a family or reaching out to church groups for support. The more people you can draw in, the greater the impact we can make together. Collaboration is the key to spreading love and joy during the holiday season.
Getting Started
Once you sign up to be a team captain, you will receive the names, ages, sizes and unique circumstances of the family as well as contact information. To ensure a timely and efficient delivery, we recommend reaching out to the family as soon as possible to schedule a date for the gift distribution and to address any inquiries concerning their specific needs.
The school's completed form will provide you with a contact name and number for this purpose. When making contact, kindly mention that you are working in partnership with Action Angels and that your aim is to coordinate the delivery of holiday items for their family.
If the mother or father inquires about your affiliation, simply inform them of the school's name, clarifying that you received their contact details from the school due to their child's enrollment in the Action Angels program. Rest assured, the school's name will be readily available on the form you receive.
How it Works
Our goal is to provide each child with a pair of pants, a shirt, a jacket, or any warm clothing, as well as a pair of shoes. While we strive to fulfill these items, we understand that it may not always be possible to get everything on the list. We aim to select items from places like Target, where they can be easily returned if needed. Additionally, we believe in the importance of gifting each child a book and a fun toy or game to bring joy to their holiday season.
Ensuring equality, we make sure to have the same number of gifts for each child when adopting a family. Once the gifts are carefully wrapped, we personally deliver them to the families. Moreover, we are delighted to provide each family with a $250 grocery gift certificate to help with their essential needs. Please note: Ralph's is also Food 4 Less.
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Is my donation tax deductible?Yes, if you would like a tax letter from Action Angels, please email Donna Orgeron and give her any receipts you have along with the family it went to and your full name and address. Donna Orgeron. donna@dlocpa.com.
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Where should I buy?We suggest Target because there are lots of them in all areas. For groceries, check with the families. Many shop at Northgate or other groceries close to their homes in Santa Ana and they do not have transportation. Alternatively, Ralph’s gift cards are good at Food 4 Less.
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Should I Get Gift Receipts?Whenever possible, we get a gift receipt, particularly for clothes. We usually put them all in an envelope and give them to the parent along with the grocery gift card. We put this in a holiday card for the family that is signed by everyone on that team.
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How Much Do I Spend?While this is totally up to each person, we do recommend that within a family you be relatively consistent. We would not want one kid to get a $5 gift and someone else to get a $200.gift. Also, kids count, so we try to keep the number of gifts for each even. We would say on average you are looking at $75-$150 per kid. Parents/Adults on average $40-$100 depending on their needs. This does not include any bus passes or grocery gift cards.
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What if people don’t want to buy presents, but do want to make a financial donation?That is up to each of you. Please take any financial donations to assist you in buying a grocery gift card. It is great if each family can get a gift card of $250 or more (depending on the size of the family). If you cannot get any money for a gift card, let us know and we will find help.
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What toys/presents do I buy?You may buy whatever you feel is appropriate for the age group. We always try to provide a pair of pants, shirt, sweater or jacket and shoes for each kid. We also try to get a book or something educational and one thing we think is something fun that they really want. This varies by age and needs per family.
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Should I buy presents for the parents?This is up to you. We usually do because we believe they are just as needy, and sometimes more so than the children.
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Who does the wrapping and delivery?You and your friends get the fun of wrapping and delivering. We always put the child’s name on the card and say it is from Action Angels or Santa – whatever you prefer. Call the Parent/Adult to make delivery arrangements. If you cannot deliver, but can do everything else, let us know and we will make the arrangements.