The Newtown Fund delivered one of the largest holiday offerings in its history last month.

The fund (TNF) is best known in town for its Holiday Basket Program, which is its way of making sure the holidays are brighter for residents in need. It does this by first learning from the local Department of Social Services the number of residents who have applied for the program, who may not otherwise see gifts for the December holiday they celebrate.

Applicants are then screened by the Town of Newtown department to make sure they meet eligibility requirements. By late November, TNF knows how many individuals, couples, and families need to be “adopted” for that year’s Holiday Basket Program. The names of those seeking adoption are known only to Social Services; each recipient is identified to TNF only by a number, with only their gender and general age also shared.

The wish list of each person, couple, or family is also provided to the fund, which distributes it to those who want to do an adoption.

Businesses, organizations, families, churches, and individuals then adopt someone on that list, promising to fill their requests in time for Depot Day, when all items are collected, wrapped, and distributed to the intended recipients.

In years past, an average of 200 people were aided through TNF’s Holiday Basket Program. In 2019, 62 families were aided; in 2018 it was 68 families, representing 100 adults and 60 children. The previous year, the fund aided 71 families.

It seems 1992 may have been the standard bearer for the most challenging year for the program. That year, 124 families — representing 400 people, according to our archives — were served through the program, which began in 1964 as a distribution of Christmas food baskets. That first year, 40 families — 200 people — received boxes of gifts and food.

The Newtown Fund itself was established five years earlier and continues with its original mission of providing one-time emergency financial assistance to Newtown residents after all other possibilities have been exhausted.

Linda Bates, president of The Newtown Fund, told The Newtown Bee last week that the 2020 Holiday Basket Program adopted out 97 families.

Last year’s program provided gifts and food, she said, for 295 people: 125 adults (ages 18-61), 44 senior citizens (age 62 and up), and 96 children (age 17 and under).

“I can’t tell you how worried I was that we wouldn’t find enough adopters and wouldn’t get enough donations to help everyone,” she said January 22. “It started out very slowly, but boy was I wrong.

“I shouldn’t have had any doubts,” Bates continued. “Suddenly we had more people who wanted to adopt than we had families.”

In addition to gifts, adopters commit to providing supplies for a complete holiday meal, pantry supplies, and toiletry items for the adopted family.

“I just want to thank all the generous donors,” Bates said. “We are overwhelmed with the outpouring of love and support.”

Depot Day, Then & Now

With the COVID-19 pandemic continuing through the 2020 holiday season, some changes to the program were in order.

Depot Day, the culmination of the adoptions, usually takes place two weeks before Christmas, when hundreds of gifts and nonperishable items are delivered to a central location point. Since 2012 that has been Fraser Woods Montessori School.

In addition to the requested items, there are traditionally donations of general gifts, including toys, games, puzzles, and more. Those are also sorted among the families participating in the program, adding to their holiday bounty.

In 2018, approximately 150 people volunteered at Depot Day. COVID-19 meant that could not happen in 2020. For 2020, December 12 was tagged as “Depot Day,” but it was nothing like previous years.

By autumn, TNF’s board knew that adaptations would be necessary for the Holiday Basket Program to even take place during the pandemic. By October 20, Social Services was already looking at the possibility of more requests than ever.

Natalie Jackson, the Town of Newtown human resources administrator, told The Newtown Bee that month that a team meeting had been held, and organizers had already received calls from “people who are brand new to us.”

While previous years were “pretty consistent,” Jackson noted, “already we’ve seen some new names of people who haven’t reached out to us for support.”

The deadline to apply for the Holiday Basket Program is in late November. With more people reaching out, earlier than before, Jackson said she felt Newtown residents were “being more proactive this year than last.”

Instead of planning for Depot Day with its central location, the decision was made to have donors deliver their collections directly to the families they adopted.

Linda Bates offered praise for Alison Kistner, who recast that process last year.

“She had the bulk of the work to do,” Bates said. “She has streamlined the process and makes it run so smoothly. We would be lost without her.”

Additionally, many of the tasks normally done on Depot Day were set aside.

“The Boy Scouts didn’t load the cars, the church group of kids didn’t set up the gym, we didn’t collect boxes to hold the goods, there was no wrapping table for gift donations dropped off the day of the event, and we didn’t have to set up the kitchen for breakfast and lunch for the participants,” Bates said.

In the end, however, the families who were accepted into the holiday program — all 97 of them — received their donations, as planned, the Saturday two weekends before Christmas.

It remains unclear, said Bates — one of just eight people on The Newtown Fund board — how the holiday program will unwrap this year.

“We are deciding whether or not to continue in the traditional way or to continue with the method we used this year,” she said. The board will meet later this year to make that decision. A lot, of course, “will depend on COVID,” she noted.

Until then, however, Bates, the board, and everyone who volunteered time and items last month can rest easy knowing that they made the holidays better for dozens of fellow Newtown residents.

“By participating in this worthy endeavor, especially if you have children to involve, and whether you are the ones giving or the ones receiving,” said Bates, “it enriches us when we experience the joy in helping others or being helped.”