Bucks County school staffs driving force in helping ID families in need for Give a Christmas fund

Like Santa Claus, Mary Berman of Levittown is busy checking her list of all the children in Lower Bucks County in line for holiday vouchers this year.

Berman is chair of the Give a Christmas drive sponsored by the Kiwanis Club of Levittown-Bristol and the Bucks County Courier Times.

Since 1958, the drive has raised $5.26 million from Courier Times readers to help thousands of families make their holidays more festive during tough times.  Last year, more than 7,700 contributors helped more than 2,200 families. And this year, with inflation soaring and food and fuel costs high, the drive is as important as ever.

Its goal is to raise $132,000 between now and Christmas.

Berman has chaired the program for the past five years. She’s a retired Bristol Township School District teacher.

She said the need is great but the generosity of donors allows beneficiaries to receive vouchers for $35 for each child in their family in kindergarten through eighth grade.

More:Bucks County Courier Times, Levittown-Bristol Kiwanis launch 2022 Give A Christmas fund

“We rely very heavily on the school districts for what are referrals. Ninety-nine percent of our names come from the school districts,” she said.  Last year, that amounted to 3,200 students who received the vouchers from seven school districts and other parochial schools.

Another 180 people emailed the drive about donations. If they could document financial hardship, the Kiwanians added them to the list, though families with children are prioritized.

The schools willingly undertake the work involved to contact families to see if they want to participate and then have the form listing their school-aged children returned to the school nurse's office. "We're very fortunate to have these people," Berman said of the school staff members who help with the drive.

The Council Rock School District has participated in the program for decades. "Every year well over 100 students in grades K-8 receive a gift card to local businesses," said Andrea Mangold, district spokeswoman.

Council Rock staff members reach out to families in need and refer them to sign up to receive the support.

"That’s over $3,500 given to Council Rock families during the holidays. We are so grateful for our students to be a part of this massive countywide giving campaign that wouldn’t be possible without the help of the Courier Times," Mangold said.

Bensalem School District social workers Jacqui Owens and Jelena DaCosta have seen the impact the pandemic and economic fluctuations have had on families who struggle financially.

“Housing affordability continues to be a major hurdle to financial security, especially now that many rental and mortgage assistance programs are running out of funds,” the two women stated in an email.

More:Help Give A Christmas to neighbors in need

While free school meals provided by the state have been helpful, many families continue to utilize local food banks as inflation has eaten into their budgets.

“Given all these factors, we anticipate that the need for holiday assistance will be on par with previous years, if not higher,” the social workers said.

The vouchers distributed can be redeemed at area stores that are participants in the program, including supermarkets. Berman said that the vouchers can help families with gift purchases or be used to buy food for holiday meals.

The Give a Christmas drive starts runs through the holiday season.

This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Bucks County schools help Give a Christmas reach local families in need