Tufts community continues a holiday tradition for foster children

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Alumni and students wrapped hundreds of gifts for the party.

A child gets her face painted at the Foster Children's Holiday Party.

December 15, 2006--A remarkable annual community outreach program that first began quietly in 1988 continued once again when students and alumni leaders joined together on December 3 to host the annual Foster Children’s Holiday Party at Tufts. Students and alumni delivered their Jumbo spirit and holiday cheer for the 19th year to approximately 130 kids living in Tufts' neighboring communities.

As the foster family attendee list has grown over the years through a strong collaboration with local DSS offices, so too has the volunteer network of participants. Approximately ninety volunteers contributed their time to make the event another hit. The success of this event has also made it an attractive charitable opportunity as several local organizations and businesses donated gifts and food - demonstrating a true community partnership for the cause.

For a program that has been sustained for nineteen consecutive years, led by a highly dedicated group of perennial grass-roots organizers, it would almost be easy to take for granted that this impressive volunteer-driven operation is simply business as usual. In reality, it is the result of a tremendous amount of team planning and advance preparation.  Three days before the big event, about sixty student volunteers, including the entire Tufts Baseball team helped wrap hundreds of books and toys for the party.

 “In my work with volunteers, this group is a model of efficiency,” notes Jonathan Burton who serves as the Alumni Relations staff liaison to the planning committee. “The volunteers that take this project on are highly motivated and exceptional at self-delegating tasks. They clearly want to be doing this and show enormous pride and care in their volunteer assignments.”

Party committee co-chair, Scott Reed, E79, explains why he continues to make volunteer time for the Holiday Party year after year. “When I look at the ways to give my charitable time and help, there isn’t anything quite like this in terms of a tangible result to trade for the effort I put in. We get caught up in the excitement that the kids show us when they attend. I see the impact and that keeps me coming back”.

If you would like to become involved with this event next year, please share an email with your contact information to FCHP@tufts.edu

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