Holiday and Christmas programs that give priority to single moms and their kids.
Single moms can get help for the holidays. There are programs that help struggling people over the holidays regardless of their marital status, but some give priority to single mothers and these are highlighted below. Options range from free Christmas toy giveaways to groceries, gift cards, and food from a pantry. Or get holiday assistance from charities or churches as well as additional financial help for paying everyday bills. Find where single moms can often get priority when it comes to getting help at Christmas. While most U.S. holiday programs are open to all low-income families and then delivered locally, some communities and charities do operate “Adopt-a-Single-Mom” drives (for their kids) and these are city or county based. Most charities strongly believe every child should have a joyous holiday. Single parent run homes of have unique challenges and while the percentages do vary, about 40 to 50% of children who live with single moms are living in poverty. Everything from toys for their kids to free food baskets or holiday meals are available for single mothers, with the goal of ensuring their children (no matter the age) can experience the holidays. They too deserve to open a present on Christmas morning and they should not be “penalized” due to the fact their moms and dads are not together.
Free Christmas and Thanksgiving programs that help single moms
There are many charities (both local and national) they can turn to. While many of them are open to traditional two parent households, some do focus on (or give priority) to helping single mothers. Note since so many of these children live in poverty, the list below also includes some income based holiday programs from the federal or state government. The priority on local holiday programs is always on providing the kid with some type of gift to open Christmas morning. Whether it is a toy, game, new piece of clothing, or really anything, every kid should have at least one present to their name. There are therefore thousands of charities, churches, and agencies that hold Christmas gift giveaway events for struggling households. Most of them are run by volunteers and depend on donations. Single mothers can of course apply for the wide ranging of Christmas assistance programs local to them for the free stuff they need. As part of these local resources, single mothers can also search the websites or Facebook pages of Catholic Charities, St. Vincent de Paul, Volunteers of America, and YMCA in their county. As many of these national charity organizations also run single parent focused holiday programs even though the main charity / non-profit brand is national. (Names of the holiday programs vary by city and even state - also note that sign-ups for free Christ gifts typically open in September to November at the very latest. Free holiday food programs are available for single mother runs households. There are both charitable as well as government options for them, though the government runs often require the applicant’s income to be close to or under poverty levels. Low income single moms, including the 40 to 50% that live in or near poverty levels, can find help with Christmas groceries, Thanksgiving meals including turkeys and the toppings, and more from the following: Women, Infants, and Children can help new moms or pregnant women. Food pantries often short term emergency help and long term support too, with most local areas having the majority of their clientèle being single moms. A pantry they can be used for holiday food boxes. Find food pantries for assistance . SNAP food stamps can pay for a portion of the food and groceries needed for a healthy holiday meal. There are several other free government food assistance programs that single mothers can apply too, many of which are paid for by the USDA and help pay for holiday food baskets or groceries. Single moms can always turn to the United Way programs for help at Christmas . This is a referral service. The 501 non-profit offers free information to callers, including for information on Christmas well as other free holiday resources. One advantage to using this non-profit is, due to the high levels of poverty, many single mothers need many forms of assistance. The service will in effect be able to address, and solve, multiple needs of the client at the same time. It is possible, in fact recommended, to use 2- 1-1 from the United Way to surface current Adopt a Mom or kid Xmas toy shops, gift card funds, and church/charity drives still taking applications in your ZIP code. Ask the operator to filter for single-parent priority where available. Just dial 2-1-1 or visit 211.org for details. Find a detailed list of receiving Christmas help from the United Way . Single moms can also get details on other financial assistance programs from the United Way . These can help the parent pay other bills - those free up money to pay for Christmas presents. This may be free vouchers to pay for daycare for a single parent run home, which is often a major financial hurdle There are also housing resources such as emergency rental assistance programs for single mothers . Applications to all of those resources, and others, may be given to single moms from a local United Way call center. Salvation Army locations operate many free holiday assistance programs . The national, Christian faith based charity help people of all ages, genders, ethnicities and parental status. Whether a teenage mom, pregnant women, or new single mothers, they can apply for free Christmas toy drives, food baskets, gifts or certificates and more. The Salvation Army works to help the poor, women facing DV, single moms and others. And while not single mom only eligible, many single-parent families qualify. Find a free toy drive from the Salvation Army near you . Children living in poverty, many of which come from single mothers, greatly benefit from the
United States Marine Corps sponsored Toys for Tots
. The program and organization are set up as an IRS 501(c)(3) not-for-profit charity. It provides free, unwrapped Christmas presents to kids under the age of 14, including those with a disability, infants, and newborns. Boys, girls, teenagers, and some adults may be able to get the presents they want, or need, for the holidays. The single mom may also be given gift certificates and other help from the services and read more on Toys for Tots charitable assistance . USPS Operation Santa is widely used by single-parent households. Families, or single moms in need, send verified letters that donors adopt and fulfill by buying the gifts for the kid(s) that were requested. While not income-restricted or single-mom-specific, these are widely used by single moms with more details here on Operation Santa . Apps can help single moms get free stuff in their local neighborhoods. Freecycle and Freebie Alerts are just too of them. This can include toys for Christmas, clothes, and year round items too. While many of the items, such as toys, video games, etc. may be used, there are some giveaways for free new Christmas toys. Learn more on how single moms can use the Freecycle network for free toys , both at Christmas or year round.