Media Contacts: Jennifer Ciaccia: (216) 250-5863; jciaccia@cuyahogacounty.us
Deonna Kirkpatrick: (216) 647-2475; deonna.kirkpatrick@jfs.ohio.gov

Donations needed to help Cuyahoga County families in need during the holiday season

CUYAHOGA COUNTY, OH – As we approach the holiday giving season, Cuyahoga County is looking for donations to help some of our most vulnerable residents, children in foster care and older adults with limited resources.

Individuals and community organizations are encouraged to pitch in and help make the season bright for those in need.

There are three ways to give:

Hope for the Holidays: Hope for the Holidays is the annual gift program for children and teens in foster care. Every year gifts from generous donors go to more than 1,000 young people.

• Purchase a new gift from our Amazon and Target wish lists, compiled from requests by our children in foster care, and have it shipped directly to Cuyahoga County’s Division of Children and Family Services. OR
• Buy gifts from your favorite retailer and schedule a drop-off at our Fulton Parkway building with our Outreach Staff. (DCFSOutreach@jfs.ohio.gov or 216-881-4150).
• Deadline for donations is Friday, December 1.

Adopt-a-Family: Adopt-a-Family is a gift giving program for the children being cared for by their families in our Kinship Care Program. You can support a local kinship family in need by “adopting” them for the holidays.

• If you would like to adopt a family for the holidays, please fill out this Adopt a Family online form.
• We will match you with a family and share a link to their online wish list.
• You can purchase gifts online and have then sent directly to the family.

Elves for Elders: The Elves for Elders program collects holiday gifts for older adults throughout Cuyahoga County. They are hand-delivered by our staff of "Elves."

• Purchase gifts from our Target registry or from your favorite store.
• You can drop-off gifts Monday – Friday from 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. at 13815 Kinsman Road in Cleveland. Please ONLY wrap gifts in a gift bag.
• Deadline for donations is Friday, December 8.

For more details on all of the programs, visit: https://hhs.cuyahogacounty.us/.