25 Days Of Volunteering—Day 9: Adopt An Emergency Shelter Family for the Holidays

HUDSON VALLEY, NY — 'Tis the season for giving back to your community. There are a number of ways that you and your family can help others through the holidays.

Every day through Christmas, Patch will be highlighting a way you can provide compassion and resources to those in need.

Volunteer New York! makes it easy to find ways to help — through donations, supporting nonprofits and even volunteering from home.

Today's opportunity is adopting an emergency shelter family for the holidays with My Sisters' Place.

My Sisters' Place provides critical support to victims and survivors of domestic violence and human trafficking, offering family and immigration legal services, domestic violence advocacy, and emergency shelter. Many families in its shelters have been displaced after fleeing abusive partners and are now seeking safety. For many, this will be their first holiday season away from home without the comfort or support of loved ones.

This holiday season, volunteers are invited to bring warmth and hope by "adopting" an emergency shelter family for the holidays. After being matched with an anonymous family, volunteers will receive a brief family profile and their holiday wish list. Volunteers will then purchase the requested gifts and deliver them to the My Sisters' Place office, where they will be distributed to the families.

Express interest here (or express interest as a team if volunteering as a family or group) to receive additional information and to get started.

Check out all the volunteer opportunities around the Hudson Valley by visiting the Holiday Volunteering web page.