Businesses: Holiday Adopt-A-Family Requirements & FAQ

1. How many families can our business adopt?

You can adopt as many families as you think you can support. Just please be sure to support the ones you adopt or notify our office immediately if you can no longer support any of the families you have adopted. We never want any approved family to be left out due to support not being provided by a business that agreed to adopt them.

2. What am I expected to provide the families?

For each family adopted, you are asked to provide a minimum of:

• $75 – $125 food gift card (depending on family size) for the family to use towards a holiday meal
• Gift(s) valued up to a total cost of $50.00 per child age 18 (still in High School) and under.

3. Can I choose the size of the families?

Yes, you can choose the family size that best suits your business’ needs.

4. Can I wrap the gifts?

Please wrap your gifts, if you are able, unless the family advises you otherwise.

5. Can I specify the location of the families?

You can sort the families by home state, zip code, county, branch of service, and family size. We are hopeful if you do not find local families that you will still consider adopting outside of your local area. 

6. How do I get the gifts to the family?

In most instances, depending on the location of the family, you will need to ship the gifts to the family. If you happen to be located near the family, you may meet and exchange the gifts, but we ask that you select a neutral meeting place to exchange the gifts. Some suggestions are a restaurant, parking lot of Walmart or Target, grocery store, etc.

If shipping gifts, please take delivery time into consideration and ensure the gifts will be received by or before December 25, 2024. To get the gifts there by that date, these are the shipping deadlines:

• Shipping to a stateside address: ship by or before December 15, 2024
• Shipping to an overseas address (APO/FOP/DPO): ship by or before December 7, 2024

7. Do I contact the families?

Yes, you will be given the address, phone number, and email of each family. It is your responsibility to contact the families to verify the information they have provided, talk with the family about their needs, and get additional information from the family that will help you with your holiday purchases.

8. How will I know what to buy each child? 

The families will provide a wish list for each child as part of their application. Once you make contact with the families, you can ask for more specific details, sizes (if the family requests clothing for their children), color preferences for the children, etc. We ask that you not provide gift cards to the children as presents even though the family may request this item.

9. Can I purchase items for the parents?

Yes, you can purchase items for the parents but it is not required. You are asked to provide a gift card for the parents/guardians so they may purchase food for the holiday meal.

10. How do you screen the families?

All families are screened for participation in our Holiday Adopt-A-Family program. Proof of service is validated before a family becomes eligible for adoption.

11. Can I ask the families over to our place of business or invite all of our families to a party we are having?

You may invite the families to your business or party but please know that many families may not feel comfortable with this situation or it may not be conducive for the service member if he/she has physical or other disabilities. Many of our veterans suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress or Traumatic Brain Injury and new situations or people may make them uncomfortable. We want to ensure a positive experience for everyone. Please talk with your adopted families and find out their needs and what situations they will feel comfortable with. We ask that you respect their decision and needs.

12. If the families are in my area, can I make the families dinner and bring it to them?

No, for the liability, safety, and comfort of our military families, we ask that you provide a gift card for the meal. If the family does not wish to cook, you can purchase a cooked meal from a local grocer or restaurant and have the family pick up the meal. Please make sure that you check with the family on any dietary needs or allergies of the family.

13. How long does it take for me to be matched with a military family?

Once you have registered as a volunteer you will receive an email with instructions and you can begin sorting the families immediately. Families are made available for adoption as soon as they are screened and approved.

14. Once I register and start searching for a family, what if there are no families available for adoption?

If there are no families available, please be patient and check back often. Screening the families and uploading them to our system is a manual process that continues throughout the registration period. New families are added daily during that period but may get adopted quickly. As mentioned previously, if you are having a difficult time finding a family that meets certain search criteria, please remove some criteria to broaden your search.