In almost every store holiday decorations have appeared. Before long, every radio station will be playing holiday music. And at First U, ILYA (Independent Living for Young Adults) has kicked off our Holiday Giving project. For those not familiar with this, it’s our way of bringing some holiday cheer to youth who have aged out of foster care. It works like this:

Youth submit wishes through their state hired Independent Living Coordinators. Our project lead, Carolyn Gibson, takes the wishes and organizes them into lists with short bios and posts them every Sunday in November in the Parish Hall during coffee hour. Volunteers who want to shop may choose to take a list of items from a list and then bring their contribution back to the church no later than December 3rd. Others who don’t want to shop give cash or checks or gift cards.
Do you think you could help bring some holiday cheer to a young person who may otherwise have a bleak holiday? If so, please come to the table with the Christmas tree and take a look at the lists. You can learn something about the youth and decide if you want to shop or donate. We need lots of support to make these wishes come true and we know First U is there to give it.