By Melissa Walton, SPECIAL TO THE DEMOCRAT
Tallahassee Democrat, Friday, December 26, 2008 — The impact of the economy has affected many this year, especially the families of Big Bend Cares' clients.
The majority of the agency's 88 families, with 210 children, are living at, or below, 100 percent of the federal poverty guidelines; that is $22,000 annually for a family of four.
For the 16th year now, the Big Bend Cares Holiday Angels program has helped to channel holiday cheer to these children living with a family member with HIV/AIDS. In this program, community members "adopt" a child (or children) and generously provide gifts of toys, clothes, educational items, and household items that the families can't afford.
Earlier this month, Big Bend Cares had a 15 percent increase in new families, but noticed a shortage of donors, compared to the same time last year. When Big Bend Cares called out for help, Al Pasini, treasurer of the Sunrise Rotary Club, asked the Rotary to assist by donating to the Holiday Angels program, and the board members voted to do even more. The Rotary decided to match all donations made by the Rotary's club members.
This act of kindness is nothing new to the Sunrise Rotary Club, as its members have raised money for many charitable organizations throughout the years. This service club, comprised of 75 members, conducts a number of activities that support community agencies and their activities.
Both Al Pasini and Bonnie Fowler, a member of the club, truly embraced the Holiday Angels spirit — literally. At their annual holiday party, they both dressed as "Holiday Angels" and floated around the party, asking for donations to go towards helping these children. Their efforts amounted to $1,500, and with the Rotary's matching funds, they presented a check of over $3,000 to the Big Bend Cares Holiday Angels program.
These funds from the Sunrise Rotary Club are covering 12 children who were not adopted through the program, and assist with filling the gaps for 23 other children who had only received one or two gifts from community members. This year, because of the troubled economy, more donors were only able to help with one or two gifts instead of providing gifts for an entire family.
However, it's not just the children who benefit from this program — the entire family benefits, especially the parent or grandparent diagnosed with HIV/AIDS. In a recent phone call to a case manager, a mother struggling with this disease wanted to extend a "thank you" to the staff and the community members that contribute to the Holiday Angels program.
When the mother was first diagnosed with HIV/AIDS, she didn't believe she would live long enough to see her son turn that age. Now she will see him graduate from high school and beyond. She said, "I don't know what I would have done without this program."
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