Can you believe it’s already Pumpkin Spice season!? Besides watching the leaves change and indulging in all things pumpkin, it’s time to open up our Adopt-A-Family program for the upcoming holiday season. While you may not have the holiday season on the brain, there are thousands of struggling military families who are already stressed out about it.

Our Adopt-A-Family program helps hundreds of military families each year. Adoptees are matched with a sponsor, who is provided with a wish list of items for the children in the family under 18 years of age. The family also receives a grocery gift card to help purchase a holiday dinner and trimmings.

Whether you’re a military family in need of support or looking to help a military family during the holiday season, read on.

How to Get Adopted

***Please Note: Adopt-A-Family registration will open on Monday, September 20th, 2021. Once registration is open, the links denoted with *click here* will be activated.***

Applications are open for families of deployed service members; Post 9-11 wounded, ill, or injured service members; and veteran families enrolled in HUD/VASH. Please note, to be eligible, all military or veteran families must be a legal guardian to one or more children, aged 18 and under, living in the home and not yet graduated from high school.

Selection for this program is need-based, as determined by Soldiers’ Angels representatives, at their sole discretion. Priority will be given to families who have not received Adopt-A-Family services in the past.

Families of Deployed Service Members

Families of deployed service members must be registered with Soldiers’ Angels for deployed support, E1 through E6, AND not be scheduled to return from deployment prior to December 25, 2021, and demonstrate financial need.

If you’re not already registered with Soldiers’ Angels and meet the eligibility criteria above, *click here* and fill out the registration form. Please make sure you fill it out completely and upload the requested documents.

For families or service members already registered, log in to your account and check Adopt-A-Family. You will be instructed to complete additional information and upload the necessary documents.

Families of Post 9-11 Wounded, Ill, or Injured Service Members

Families of Post 9-11 wounded, ill, or injured service members must have proof of wound, illness, or injury and also demonstrate financial need. If you qualify, *click here* to fill out the registration form. Make sure you fill it out completely and upload the requested documents.

Veteran Families

For veteran families enrolled in HUD/VASH, the veteran must complete a letter of eligibility with their HUD/VASH caseworker that will validate eligibility and demonstrate financial need.

For all families: Our Adopt-A-Family Team is small and works very hard to review and process applications as soon as possible. You will receive a yes, no, or request for more information from our team but the process does take some time.

Need more info? Check out our FAQ page.

How to Adopt a Family

You can adopt a family as a person, a family, or with a group like your company, church, or civic organization. Either way, you must become a Team Angel first.

When registering as a Team Angel, you are asked to set up a recurring contribution of $1 per month, $3 a quarter, or $12 per year. This allows us to verify your information. Once registered, you will be given access to the Angel database, where you can log in to your account and get assigned to a military/veteran family in need.

After you’re assigned a military/veteran family, you will contact them within 48 hours for a wishlist from the children. You are not required to fulfill the entire wishlist but please do pick out at least one item for each child, along with a gift card to help with holiday dinner supplies.

The Adopt-A-Family program is a great fit for businesses looking to make a big impact and engage employees over the holiday season. Many find that employees love getting to know the families, shopping for the children, and then doing a gift wrapping party together. If you’re interested in getting involved as a business, learn more about the benefits and get some ideas and tips from these two great blog posts highlighting previous partners:

• Barclays
• TREA

Check out our Frequently Asked Questions for Team Angels for more information.

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