The rustle of wrapping paper and festive flurry of volunteers filled Illinois State University’s Civil Service Testing Center on December 2 as the Holiday Helper program wrapped up another season of giving.
Coordinated by Illinois State’s Center for Civic Engagement (CCE), the Holiday Helper program connects university and community volunteers with local children in need for the holiday season.
With help from four community partners—Lifelong Access, YWCA McLean County, The Center for Youth and Family Solutions, and Boys and Girls Club of Bloomington-Normal—Illinois State students, faculty, and staff collected holiday gifts for 252 local children this year.
Afiwa TETE, assistant director for co-curricular programs at CCE, said the program unites the campus community while serving as an important local service.
“For many families, this is vital, and without some of these gifts there won’t be anything under the Christmas tree,” TETE said. “It’s just wonderful to see how our community came together.”
This year, the program saw a new surge of support from Metcalf School families, sparked by the president of the school’s parent-teacher organization, Cat Poffenbarger ’10, M.S. ’14, who also teaches in CCE.
“I had shared just the Holiday Helper link to our Facebook page and to some other groups within our parent organization,” Poffenbarger said. “I think it’s just a really cool way to connect, as Thomas Metcalf School, with the broader ISU community.”
This was the PTO’s first year participating in the program, but Poffenbarger has been a longtime Holiday Helper sponsor. This year, her informal outreach inspired four Metcalf families, including her own, to sponsor children.
Poffenbarger’s family sponsored a 5-year-old boy, a choice that hit close to home.
“I’ve got a 5-year-old daughter, so it was an easy pick,” Poffenbarger said. Her children help choose the gifts each year, using their own preferences for toys to find the perfect present.
“That instilled idea of generosity to all is important, whether you know them or you don’t know them. It’s a really important life skill to grow into,” Poffenbarger said. She’s confident that involvement from Metcalf School families will grow in future years.
TETE said the Holiday Helper program, which began around 30 years ago, has evolved as needs and resources have shifted. Although every child was sponsored this season, she said the program could always benefit from more support through volunteers and donors.
“We got the children sponsored before the deadline, which is great,” TETE said. “People were eager and ready to sponsor. And it’s just wonderful to see how our community came together. A lot of them went above and beyond for many of the children.”
Senior elementary education major and CCE office assistant, Kaitlyn Lay, has worked behind the scenes of Holiday Helper for three years vetting gifts, organizing donations, and helping volunteers.
“This is probably my favorite program that we put on throughout the entirety of the year,” Lay said.
Lay and her mother sponsored two girls this year, ages 7 and 8. Lay described the experience of sponsoring children as “meaningful and worthwhile” and a great opportunity to bond with her mother during a day of shopping.
“You just see the impact, and you know what this is going to mean for these kids,” Lay said.
Lay also emphasized that the program offers connections for the CCE.
“Knowing that we’re reaching out to different community organizations and building those partnerships is really important,” Lay said.
Jacub Gawlik ’20, a study abroad advisor at Illinois State, volunteered for the first time this year after receiving an email invitation.
Gawlik and his team of coworkers said they had a blast wrapping gifts.
“Everyone was really friendly and inviting, and it was a lot of fun,” Gawlik said. “There were plenty of bags of toys and things that needed to be wrapped. So, we just set our things down and got to work. Everything was super well-oiled.”
Gawlik couldn’t help but think about the children who would open each of the gifts he wrapped.
“My hope is that whoever receives [the gifts] knows that they’re coming from a community that cares about them and wants to support them,” Gawlik said. “I think that kind of brings us closer to the magic Christmas that we all think about.”
He encouraged Redbirds to consider volunteering for the program in future years.
“There are a lot of opportunities out there for people to get involved. I don’t think that enough people do, and I feel like if you want to be the change that you want to see, you have to be a part of it,” Gawlik said. “It truly takes a village.”
