"Assisting families and individuals of Delaware County in a collaborative effort by providing personal emergency assistance with dignity and respect in their time of need"
Our Holiday Clearing House program provides new toys, clothing, gift certificates, gifts and food to Delaware County families with children and senior/disabled homebound residents.
This annual, community program has been serving the residents of Delaware County for 54 years! It's success is attributed to the hundreds of people who donate the food and gifts and volunteer their time each year to help those who are less fortunate.
Holiday Clearing House takes place in early December at the Delaware County Fairgrounds Coliseum building. It all begins with the City/County Food Drive on the first Saturday of the month. Many local businesses, organizations, schools, etc. conduct food drives throughout the month of November. The food is then delivered to the coliseum on this Saturday. Volunteers unload the food and it then goes through a quality control process. Food is checked to make sure it is not damaged or expired. From there it is sorted and organized into various categories for ease in the selection process. Throughout the next week, donations of more food, new clothing/toys and gifts are received and the quality control process continues.
On the the second Saturday in December hundreds of people volunteer to help pack food during our Family Food Packing Day. A four day supply of food for nearly 500 families is packed up in about three hours.
Distribution Day takes place on the second Sunday of December. Clients are given a designated time when they can come to the coliseum to make their holiday gift selections and pick up their food. Adult escorts guide the clients through the process and assist them with their gift and clothing selections.
Although this is a holiday program, we continue to receive donations for the program throughout the year. Preparation for Holiday Clearing House is a year-long process.
