This winter season, Lafayette staff groups are banding together to donate to families in need via the Adopt-A-Family program. The yearly project is coordinated by social worker Cindy Laudel and Principal Karen Calcaterra.

Although it seems like this particular charity begins around the holidays, Laudel and Calcaterra have been organizing and preparing to make sure each supply shipment not only gets to their recipient but gets to them anonymously.

“Some of the kids [receiving help from donors] don’t know. I talk to the parents, but they don’t tell their children. Some of the parents even check with me. They’ll say: ‘How close to Christmas are you coming?’ because they want to be able to hide things, wrap things or whatever the case, so their kids don’t know,” Laudel said.

First, after gathering a list of Lafayette families that need holiday assistance, Calcaterra compiles a list of each donation group participating in the program. This includes all school departments, advisory and leadership groups like NHS and Key Club, and independent teachers/families adopting.

Secondly, Calcaterra asks each donating group to report how large of a family they can handle, and then distributes families based on this advice. She also checks with a theater school in the area to ensure no one family is getting two or more helpers assigned.

To guarantee anonymity, donating groups don’t know who they’re donating to. Instead, Laudel and Calcaterra use code names like ‘boy 6’ and ‘girl 2’.

After that, the flow of the project shifts to Laudel’s side. After each family has been assigned, Laudel asks each family which items they need most. Laudel passes the recommendations on to each donation group.

Finally, Laudel organizes a meet-up with each family and delivers the gifts, an experience that’s always full of holiday cheer, especially for the parents

“It may sound silly but a lot of the moms that I meet with get really excited about the household stuff because that kind of stuff’s not very cheap. It’s hard to do laundry when you run out of laundry soap!” Laudel said.

This level of organization and planning is a major amount of work, and it is necessary for Laudel to work with Calcaterra.

“The rest of life keeps going on, that’s the hard part, but Dr. Calcaterra helps me a lot with the organization piece. I don’t know if I could manage it all on my own,” Laudel said.

Calcaterra, on the other hand, has an easier time with the process.

“It’s worth the time. It’s not stressful at all.” Calcaterra said

Yet, despite the varying levels of stress the project puts on their lives, Calcaterra and Laudel can agree on one thing: Adopt-A-Family is well worth the effort, and a positive impact on the Lafayette community.

“The Adopt-A-Family Program is really cool and our groups here are amazing and do wonderful things. It’s a wonderful feeling to be able to help someone. It’s part of the reason I went into social work.” Laudel said.