The Festive Seasonal Cheer holiday gift drive was in full swing this month at Norwescap’s Traditions Family Success Center (FSC) in Phillipsburg, with donors dropping off hundreds of gifts and more than three dozen holiday meals. Families are gleefully arriving to collect their personal holiday gifts.

Norwescap’s Traditions Family Success Center brings the community together; residents, leaders, and agencies working together to create the safety and stability our families deserve, and enriching the lives of children and their caregivers by helping and empowering all families to succeed.

Originally created as “Partners In Joy,” Norwescap established this holiday program nearly a decade ago to provide gifts to families in need during the holidays. The Traditions Family Success Center created a new title to follow the same F.S.C. acronym, now calling it “Festive Seasonal Cheer,” but changes in the program’s name have not changed the need for support.

During a two-week period in mid-autumn, 170 applications for gifts were initially submitted from families in need, but the on-going response from donors wanting to contribute was so great that the sign-up period was re-opened. Marking the ninth annual holiday gift program this December, Norwescap Traditions Family Success Center is truly spreading Festive Seasonal Cheer by now bringing the joy of the season to over 200 families, which accounts for more than 500 children, primarily from Warren County.

As a young couple arrived to pick up the gifts, the mom exclaimed, “I wasn’t expecting all of this. Thank you so much!” and the father said, “Thank you so much, now I can buy for my new baby on the way!”

Donors started dropping their gifts at the South Main Street location in early November, while others were picked up by Norwescap Traditions Family Success Center, and some arranged delivery directly to the families they sponsored, depending on need. The gifts will continue to pour in through late-December.

A true community effort, there was an exceptional showing of generosity from individual donors, families, groups, and businesses. Among the donors were Temporary Housing Services (THS), who adopted 20 families and donated money for holiday meals. Construction Specialties in Lebanon adopted 24 families and donated 24 holiday meals. Pastor John and his congregation at the First Baptist Church in Phillipsburg adopted 20 families. Phillipsburg Alliance Church is a new donor this year; Dr. Michael Sefcik of Mission Chiropractic in Blairstown donated 12 holiday meals.

In addition to choosing a family to adopt, sponsors and donors could alternatively select “Angel Tags,” each representing one gift from a child’s wish list. But as requests continued to pour in from supporters even after the application period was closed, a third option was designed to keep up with donations. Unwrapped non-specific gifts for all ages and genders, including toys and clothing, were accepted at what temporarily became a quasi-FSC Gift Shoppe. Families that were wait-listed, could now simply walk-in on designated days, give their holiday wish list to a “Personal Shopper” who then pulls items from the “shoppe” and brings them to the awaiting family.

According to Latiesha Carter, Director of Norwescap Traditions Family Success Center, “This year there has been a surprisingly large number of requests for craft items, along with clothing and shoes. The hot-ticket trend for toys appeared to be Fortnite-related items.”  

Most of the families have children five years of age and under. There was a higher than usual need for gifts for teenagers. Carter said, “Family Success Center will do their best to find things such as movie gift cards, makeup kits and other gift cards for teens over 14, who are often more challenging to shop for.”

Summing up the sentiment of excitement and gratitude, one father simply exclaimed, “That’s IT!” as he entered the FSC and spied the perfect gift for his child. Another caregiver tearfully shared, “You don’t even know what this did for me. You just saved my life.”

Carter noted that “Many of the parents we serve struggle at this time of year. They want to make the holidays special for their children, but just can’t stretch their funds far enough. The Festive Seasonal Cheer program invites members of our community to extend the spirit of giving to those families so they too can experience the magic of the holidays.”

Since it’s common for parents and caregivers to be overwhelmed with thankfulness yet feel uncomfortable talking about it, Norwescap provided a “gratitude box” at the pick-up site where gift recipients were encouraged to share what the holiday gift drive meant to them.

Norwescap and the Traditions Family Success Center are deeply thankful for each and every person who helped make the holidays merry and bright for those less fortunate.

Originally established in 1965, Norwescap has evolved into a comprehensive nonprofit organization providing services to over 30,000 individuals in New Jersey annually. The organization offers a broad array of services that support and empower people with low to moderate income, helping them move away from the crisis of poverty and towards a future where they can thrive. Norwescap programs address immediate needs and build strategies for long term success, focusing on education, employment, financial empowerment, health and nutrition, housing and community development, and volunteerism and civic engagement.