BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) — Many view the holiday season as a time to share and give back. With inflation at an all-time high, there are countless individuals who would benefit from such generosity.
This Christmas, members of Baton Rouge’s ‘Volunteers of America’ organization are determined to find such individuals and see to their needs.
David Kneipp, President and CEO of the nonprofit spoke with BRProud’s Jessica Knox regarding the initiative.
Kneipp said, “It’s a wonderful opportunity to make a positive impact on these people’s lives.”
Volunteers of America says that over 300 hundred families are struggling financially and could use assistance with securing Christmas gifts for each other.
Kneipp jokingly said inflation has lengthened the nonprofit’s list of individuals in need, so much so that the list has become even longer than Santas.
He added that a host of donations, including presents from BRProud’s news team, will ensure that all 300 families will be recipients of gifts.
Kneipp said, “If you’re in a really bad way, the holiday season can be very depressing. So, we’re trying to reverse that trend with this… to say this is a positive time of year.”
Though a number of children in need requested socks and clothes, Volunteers of America wanted to make sure they received something fun, like a bike.
“These young children who really don’t understand,” Kneipp said, “they see their friends and they’re getting things and they’re not. So, to us, it’s really important that we provide a really positive impact to them.”
As Volunteers of America’s members distribute more than 1,000 gifts this holiday season, they’ll also be distributing smiles across the Baton Rouge area.
The nonprofit is still accepting donations, which will allow each child to receive more than one gift as well as a free meal.
Would you like to help? If so, click here.
Volunteers of America is also attempting to secure bus passes and outreach bags for its Homeless Outreach Program. For more information on this, visit www.voascla.org/volunteer or contact Kate Bradshaw @ kate.bradshaw@voascla.org.
