Jose Paul Corona As Thanksgiving approaches, families...

Jose Paul Corona

As Thanksgiving approaches, families are stocking up on the items

they’ll need to prepare one of the biggest dinners of the year.

But while many in Huntington Beach have much to give thanks for,

there are those without.

That’s why families have started to do double shopping for the

holiday’s -- one for their own family and a second for an “adopted”

family.

Project Self-Sufficiency, a program that helps single-parent

families, asks those who can to “adopt” a family in need at the

holidays to spread the cheer. They are looking for volunteers to help

families this Thanksgiving.

Persons or families can adopt a family, to give them a good

holiday meal.”It’s really providing a gift basket or gift food

coupons,” said Susan Edwards, director of Project Self Sufficiency.

The program has been going on for the past 15 years and it has

been very successful, she said. Edwards has developed a list of

families whom she adopts out at the holidays.

“[People] like it, which is why almost all my Christmas families

are gone. People start calling in October or September,” she said.

Volunteers who take part in the program talk with the family that

they are adopting and ask them what they would like or need, they

then deliver the basket themselves, Edwards said.

“It’s very personal,” she added.

Another organization that is helping feed families this

Thanksgiving, is Builders of Faith. The Huntington Beach-based

nonprofit corporation helps feed the homeless and assists families

that have financial difficulties.

Builders of Faith works with more than a dozen churches in the

city to help feed families.

“What we’ll do is we’ll provide Thanksgiving items for a

Thanksgiving meal,” said Mary Reardon, a former Builders of Faith

board member.

Churches and private persons have been donating time and money to

the program for the past 14 years, she said.

Many local churches, such as Faith Lutheran Church and St.

Bonaventure Catholic Church, hold food drives and give out gift

baskets at the holidays.

St. Bonaventure is accepting donations of both food and money to

put together gift baskets for families, many of which will be

delivered to the Oak View Community Center on Monday.

The city’s Senior Outreach Center, which offers help and support

to seniors throughout the year, makes a special, concentrated effort

at the holidays.

Every morning volunteers eagerly prepare meals for delivery to

homebound seniors. The Meals to the Home program provides meals five

days a week to seniors who are unable to shop and cook for

themselves.

“It’s very rewarding,” said Ida Dollinger, an 86-year-old

Huntington Beach resident. “You’re helping people that can’t get

out.”

But at the holidays, the outreach center has a special need for

volunteers, said Diane Swarts, volunteers services coordinator at the

center.

Many families like to help deliver food to homebound seniors as a

family during the holidays, she said.

Rather than volunteering individually, families often look for

ways that they can volunteer together, she said. Both parents often

work and they focus most of their attention on their children.

This had led to a decline in volunteerism, she said.

“People are just very, very busy,” Swarts added.

With Thanksgiving nearly here and Christmas just around the

corner, there are many opportunities to begin volunteering and change

the downward trend, Swarts said.