Posted 11/22/2007

Arnold School students, staff, faculty to donate
 holiday gifts to Columbia area family

The Arnold School of Public Health Student Association and the Dean’s Office are continuing the school’s long tradition of helping a family in need during this holiday season.

Working with the 2007 Families Helping Families Holiday Assistance Program, the students, faculty, and staff have adopted a Columbia area family consisting of a 39-year-old single mom with two girls, ages 15 and 16 and 3 boys, ages 3, 4 and 22-months.

The Arnold School effort is seeking to purchase a new toy or age appropriate item, book, and article of clothing for each child in the family plus a suitable gift for the mother.

Additionally, the Office of Student and Alumni Services will collect money to provide the family with a gift certificate from a local grocery store so they can enjoy a holiday meal, said Christy Smith, student services/graduate admissions coordinator

The Families Helping Families 2007 program is an effort of the Palmetto Project and is a partnership bringing together the generosity of local families, churches, businesses and community groups to help area families in need. Last year, the Families Helping Families Holiday Program helped over 2,400 families have a more joyous holiday season.

All families participating in this program are qualified for assistance from and represented by established social service agencies in the Lowcountry and the Midlands.

 “Many of the families that the Palmetto Project serves have the greatest level of need at this time of year, and would experience nothing during the holiday season without the generous support of donors and sponsors,” said Denille M. Douglas, director of Families Helping Families Palmetto Project in a letter to the Arnold School.

To participate, donors are asked to:

• Visit the Office of Student and Alumni Services (HESC 112) and select an ornament from the Arnold School Holiday Tree. Each ornament contains a gift suggestion for a particular family member. (Call or email Smith -- cfsmith@sc.edu or 803-777-5031 --  if you cannot come to campus. She will pull an ornament and save it to attach to your gift.)
• Please be sure to leave tags (not prices) on all merchandise that you purchase, and include gift receipts with your packages.
• Bring the wrapped gifts, with the ornament attached, to the Office of Student and Alumni Services by Tuesday, Dec. 11.

Each family member has a “Wish List Item”. “It would be great if several donors could join to purchase some of those pricier gifts," Smith said.

Families Helping Families operates under the 501(c)(3) status of the Palmetto Project and all donations are tax-deductible.