Elves of Holiday Wish Lead the Charge

For more than 60 years, the Central Ohio community has been granting the wishes of children served by Franklin County Children Services through our Holiday Wish Program. But there would be no wishes to grant without the work of our loyal “elves” who come back each year to keep the program organized and running.

Led by Head Elf Frieda McKarn, the temporary staff of five marched into the agency in mid-October to begin the process of collecting and matching wish lists, arranging pickups, sorting toys, and labeling gift tags. The work isn’t done until mid-January after they’ve helped put smiles on the faces of thousands of children in FCCS care. 

Ms. McKarn retired after working with Children Services for more than 38 years, most recently as a kinship supervisor. She returned soon after, recalling the joy on the faces of families when children received gifts from Holiday Wish. She’s been with the program for eight years.

Paula Kuzelka, who worked in the FCCS Fiscal Department for 33 years, eagerly joined Holiday Wish in 2018. “I believe in what Holiday Wish stands for: giving kids a wonderful holiday.” 

Another long-time agency veteran, Elaine Burke worked as part of the kinship team for ten years before joining Holiday Wish five years ago. She enjoys the chaos and excitement of the Holiday Wish workshop: “I love the people and I love working here.”

The newest member of the team is Tanya Palmer, a former FCCS caseworker who recalls enjoying this time of year while she was in her previous role. “I loved seeing the donors who were excited about bringing gifts for children.” 

Volunteers are also vital to the success of Holiday Wish. For several years, Lynn Johnson took time off from her corporate job to spend days with Holiday Wish. She even received the agency’s Community Advocate Award in 2020 for the work she did gathering and organizing donations. 

Ms. Johnson is happy to now be an official member of the team: “I come back every year because it makes my heart feel good, knowing children receive gifts.” 

You can join in making the holidays special for children served by FCCS. Sponsor a child, make a cash donation, drop off any new toy, or shop our Holiday Wish and Black Girl Magic Amazon Gift list. 

Visit fccs.us/holiday-wish to learn more.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Safer Together: First FCCS Director of Safety and Security Selected

Image
Adding another layer to the strategies designed to keep Franklin County Children Services staff and visitors to FCCS buildings protected and safe - and championing a new “Safer Together” approach to security - the agency has welcomed its first official Director of Safety and Security. Robert Collins joined the FCCS Team in mid-November with more than 30 years of private and public safety, security, and emergency management experience. And he’s already been busy. “It will take all of us to keep the agency safe and each other safe,” Mr. Collins shared. “This position will be the lead on enhancing, implementing, and overseeing our comprehensive safety and security efforts,” according to FCCS Executive Director Chip Spinning. “We want Robert to be the point-person in security-related discussions, for emergency and crisis planning, and as a liaison between FCCS and local first responders.” Mr. Collins will also chair the agency’s Safety Committee and is in the process of meeting FCCS staff
Read more

FCCS Visitation Keeps Families Connected

Image
When young people can no longer stay with a parent, it’s still critically important to help kids maintain connections to their loved ones. And over the past year, Franklin County Children Services has coordinated thousands of safe visits to connect children and separated parents - and used the time that families are together to connect them with additional support.  Regularly-scheduled family visitation is an opportunity for children who are in out-of-home care and their parents to spend quality time together, with the ultimate goal of family reunification.  In 2023, FCCS has coordinated more than 6,000 of these family visits over the course of the year. LaTisha Sterling is one of 34 FCCS social service aides (SSA) who helped facilitate these meaningful family gatherings. “My passion is helping people… being an advocate for the people we serve,” says Sterling, who works primarily out of FCCS’s West Region office on Frank Road.  With both a bachelor’s and a master’s degrees in social wo
Read more

FCCS Volunteers Comfort, Care for Children during Crisis

Image
As a volunteer in Franklin County Children Services’ Crisis Center, Michalle DiGiovine fondly recalls dining on “pretend food” and playing “restaurant” with a promising culinary staff of five young children as they tried out recipes prepared on a plastic range.  “It felt good that they could come to me - a stranger - to pretend and laugh a little,” she said, remembering how she connected with the youngsters, all the under the age of 10, who had just endured an extremely traumatic experience at home. As January is National Mentoring Month, it’s a great time to recognize the Crisis Center volunteers who help protect children by allowing them to escape from tumultuous situations for a time and feel safe and cared for.  Mentors and volunteers play an important role at FCCS in surrounding children who come into the agency’s care with kindness and support, letting children know they are not alone. It’s part of the agency’s strategy to protect the “whole” child - mind, body, and heart.  A pla
Read more