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HOLIDAY ADOPT-A-FAMILY

Adopt-A-Family 2025: A Record-Breaking Year of Community Love

Batavia United Way’s 20th Annual Adopt-A-Family program was nothing short of extraordinary. Thanks to the compassion and generosity of our community, we served 173 families, providing holiday gifts to 392 children — the largest year in the program’s history.

For three incredible days, our Adopt-A-Family distribution site was filled with warmth, teamwork, and care as families received gifts, essentials, and a powerful reminder that they are not alone.

A Community Effort, Through and Through

This program is only possible because of the countless partners, volunteers, businesses, and individuals who show up year after year.

We are deeply grateful to the Batavia VFW for generously opening their space for this three-day event and to BEI, who provided storage and staging space for two weeks leading up to distribution — and also adopted a family themselves.

Through the Coats for Kids initiative, the partnership between Batavia Rotary Club and Rotary Club of St. Charles-Geneva ensured that 120 children received brand-new winter coats. The Batavia Lions Club once again showed incredible leadership by hosting their annual Underwear Party, collecting socks and underwear for every child and donating additional funds to support the program. We are also thankful to Bombas for donating 1,500 pairs of socks, many of which were shared with our families.

Our youngest community members led with big hearts as well. The Grace McWayne Grizzlies Kids’ Club, led by Kellie Myers, collected more than 800 boxes of cereal — providing cereal for every Adopt-A-Family household, with remaining donations going to the Batavia Interfaith Food Pantry and Clothes Closet.

Additional heartfelt thanks go to:

  • Walmart, for awarding a Spark Good Grant to help cover additional needs

  • Girl Up at Batavia High School, for assembling spa bags for single moms

  • Bikes for Batavia, for providing bicycles for children

  • Residents of Covenant Living – The Holmstad and Kate Sullivan – Edward Jones, for hosting toy drives

  • Chip In Batavia, for adopting children, providing grocery gift cards, and ensuring every family received an Adopt-A-Bag filled with household essentials

We are also grateful to Batavia Women in Business and the Batavia Chamber of Commerce for their financial support and gift cards raised at their Holiday Luncheon, and to Wilson Street Mercantile for hosting the Teen Pajama Drive and serving as a drop site for Baking Bags and Cleaning Kits.

Sponsors Who Made the Magic Happen

We extend heartfelt thanks to the many businesses, organizations, and groups who adopted families or supported stockings, including:

QT9 Software, Batavia Moose Lodge & Women of the Moose, Batavia Mothers’ Club Foundation, BFC, Target Batavia, Brookstone Capital Management, Business to Business Logistics, Maker’s Pride, Batavia Container, Batavia City Council, LaVoda Salon, Abri Credit Union–Fermilab, Batavia Fire Department, 5 Star Learning Ranch, Batavia Covenant, Holzl Homes, Fox Valley Forest Preserve District of Kane County, The Executive Geek, numerous Scout troops — and countless individuals, families, neighborhood groups, book clubs, church groups, and friends who poured so much love into this program.

An Unmatched School Partnership

We are especially thankful for the partnership of Batavia Public School District 101. Faculty and staff identified families, gathered wish lists, ensured correct sizing, supported distribution days, and many even adopted families themselves.

A very special thank-you goes to Amy Nelson, District 101 staff member and Batavia United Way board member — the heart of this program — whose dedication and care make Adopt-A-Family possible year after year.

Powered by Volunteers

From our Coat Queens at Garage 31, to Scout Troop 21 unloading cars, staff from Fox Valley Special Recreation loading gifts, our Batavia United Way Board of Directors, and dozens of individual volunteers — this program runs on service, smiles, and teamwork.

From the Families We Serve

One family shared this message, which captures the true impact of this program:

“Although our children haven’t seen or opened the gifts yet, just knowing what awaits them has filled our hearts with joy and gratitude. We are truly thankful for everything — even the everyday necessities like toilet paper and toothpaste. During a hard season, those things mean more than you may realize. Your kindness has lifted a huge weight off our shoulders and reminded us that we are not alone.”

To everyone who played a role — thank you. You made the holidays brighter, warmer, and filled with hope for hundreds of Batavia families.

Contact AdoptAFamily@BataviaUnitedWay.org with any questions or to find out how you can contribute to our 2026 program!