Dear Editor:
With the holiday season fast approaching, Hudson county businesses, organizations and individuals are invited to participate in Share the Joy! by donating gifts to children in our extended Hudson County family. Share the Joy! is sponsored by the Hudson County Commission on Child Abuse and the Hudson County Youth Services Commission.
Share the Joy! hopes to collect 6,000 new gifts–one for every Hudson County child currently receiving DYFS services. These children are victims of physical use, neglect, sexual abuse, or are members of distressed families. The children live at home, with extended family members, in foster care, or in other residential settings. Most of the children live in poverty.
Of these 6,000 children, nearly 500 live in alternative residential settings, including foster care, kinship care, group homes or other settings. In Hudson County, these settings include St. Paul’s Home, WomenRising, Alpha House, Project HOME, and HOPE house.
For these children, the brilliance of the Christmas lights is clouded by the abuse and poverty they experience. Your donation of new toys or gift certificates can bring much joy. consider Toys R Us, GAP, WIZ, Syms, Old Navy, TARGET, and Kohl’s.
Call Maria or Sonia at 973-977-4480 to arrange your delivery of gifts. Seasonal necessities, such as coats, gloves, blankets and hats are also welcome.
Share the Joy! is a simple way to bring joy to children who too often feel isolated and left behind. Please examine your hearts, reach into your pockets, and call Maria or Sonia now.
On behalf of these children and their families, thank you and best wishes for the holiday season.
Peter Herbst
HC Child Abuse Commission