When considering a way to reciprocate the abundance of cheer this holiday season, you might have considered participating in the ongoing internet trend of “adopting” a family via a giving tree at a local store, community center, or online.
In 2025, the tradition of giving trees, also known as angel trees, which the Salvation Army introduced in the late 1970s, surged in popularity on TikTok. Several notable influencers who have amassed millions of followers are encouraging their followers to follow suit by adopting a family as well.
Similarly, each year in a tradition-like fashion, Northwest Community Schools in Jackson, Michigan, participates in a similar program, Adopt-a-Family, which is fueled by generous donations and selfless volunteers from around the community. This program at the school is managed by Digital Media teacher Marnie Hade.
This year, Northwest’s Adopt a Family set an ambitious final goal: delivering food and essential items to more than eighty families. This challenging number of families was not easy to achieve either; that is why Adopt a Family seeks volunteers to help fulfill Christmas wishes after school.
The program had volunteer time each Monday from 2:30 to 3:30, as well as Tuesday and Thursday from 2:30 to 4:30 in classroom, room 106, down by the band and choir entrance. The last day of volunteering this year was Sunday, December 14.
Furthermore, volunteering is an excellent way of earning service hours for any programs or clubs that require them. Even if you do not have time to spare for volunteering, the program also relies on generous donations from the numerous Christmas trees with paper ornament wishes on them located in each Northwest building.
After spending six hours with the Adopt a Family, here are some of the key takeaways of what the program is truly about and what it is like to get involved: Immediately met with an enthusiastic and welcoming team of hard-working student volunteers and adults who were ready to get to work and make an impact on the community.
After being given the chance to settle in, grab a bite to eat, and converse with others in the room, a discussion about the collective goals began. It was easy and simple: fulfill the wishes using the donations we had received. Easy.
As time passed, Hade’s hallway and classroom turned into what one could only describe as a mini-Christmas workshop; volunteers sorting boxes of goods, ensuring that each family received the correct amount of items; numbering cardboard boxes and checking off each list for our families; and highlighting each missing item that they had run out of.
Completing a wish for a family delivered a wave of satisfaction and happiness, knowing that you were able to make one more family’s Christmas day ever so slightly brighter and joyful.
Going beyond the surface, it is clear that this program is so much more than just a way to complete service hours – it is a way to become closer with those in your community; a way of giving back to all of those who are less fortunate. For more information, contact Hade in room 106, or at “[email protected]”
