Bay Area charities see sharp increase in need this holiday season but also uptick in generosity

OAKLAND, Calif. - Bay Area charities have been making adjustments during the holiday season of giving, as the pandemic has led to changes in the way they operate amid increased need in the community. 

Due to safety protocols, annual toy giveaway events have been reimagined. Many groups encouraged people to consider gift cards for donations. Some have turned toy-giveaways into outdoor events and drive-throughs, where families can pick-up toys for their children.

On Tuesday, faith-based non-profit CityTeam held a toy and food distribution event at Ace Esperanza Middle School in San Jose, working in partnership with the San Jose Sharks Foundation & SAP Center. "The Sharks foundation and SAP were working hard helping the flood of cars that came through, including many new families," CityTeam's Samantha Glenn told KTVU. Two more similar events were scheduled for Wednesday. 

“We are now serving three times as many households by providing food and groceries and hot meals, as compared to last year,” explained Tamara Wheeler, CityTeam’s vice president of marketing and communications. 

The pandemic has led to many Bay Area families experiencing financial hardships unlike they'd ever felt before. 

In response, the organization has expanded its outreach program. “We have a free mobile food truck in our CityTeam San Francisco location,” said Wheeler, adding it’s also serving folks in homeless encampments at its Oakland and San Jose locations by providing food, water, clothing, and shelter.

Amid the sharp rise in need, the organization has seen declines in individual donations contributed to its toy and turkey drives this year. But CityTeam officials said they’ve had much reason to be grateful.

“Our community has stepped up to provide for more neighbors in need,” Wheeler said, “donations continue to be given from so many faithful supporters across our 5 cities to ensure we can continue our programs uninterrupted.”

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It’s a sentiment echoed by officials with Sacred Heart Community Service which serves families in the South Bay.

"During the pandemic we have seen an uptick in need and generosity as more and more folks become aware of the deep economic inequality that plagues our community," explained Demone Carter, director of community engagement for Sacred Heart.

This week, Sacred Heart kicked off its annual "Toy Box" toy drive, distributing gift cards and small bags with stocking stuffers and holiday greetings to thousands of families. 

Carter said that the organization has been deeply appreciative of community efforts to help neighbors who were struggling, but he called on local, state, federal governments for more action especially during this unprecedented time. 

“...the scale of this crisis is far beyond the scope of any non profit,” he said, “that's why Sacred Heart Community Service is committed to organizing impacted communities to create systemic change.”

In San Francisco, the GLIDE Foundation has been a go-to for the city’s underserved residents for more than 50 years. The non-profit said this year it has shifted how it's responding to the needs of its community.

“The pandemic has created a greater need and revealed longstanding inequities in our society. GLIDE has responded with free Covid-19 testing for vulnerable residents and expanded services,” GLIDE Foundations spokeswoman Denise Lamott told KTVU.

Lamott also noted that while there has been a greater call for support this season, donors have so far stepped up to answer that call. 

This year, the foundation's annual Grocery Bag Giveaway provided 5,300 bags of groceries across the city. That’s 1,300 more than the previous year. The organization’s annual Toy Wonderland giveaway event this week was set to deliver 700 bags of toys, nearly double that of 2019. 

“Donations to the GLIDE Foundation have thankfully been stable so far,” Lamott said, but added, that it is still in the midst of its end-of-the-year holiday season fundraising effort. 

The Salvation Army Golden State Division said it too has seen a spike in need this season-- an increase of 50% than previous years. 

The chapter said that like it did on Thanksgiving, it plans to work with local executive catering business Andros Rostilj to make and package roughly 1,000 meals for Christams so they can be distributed safely, following coronavirus guidelines. 

The group has also been working for months on its toy drive. Many of its partners from previous years have not been able to contribute to the donation effort due to pandemic restrictions. “This placed us into a dire situation where we had 1,000 families (1,800 children) expecting toys for Christmas and we only had enough toys for 10% of them.” said Jennifer Byrd, the director of communications for The Salvation Army Golden State Division.

So like other organizations, it had to make adjustments to ensure that families were taken care of this year. “We proactively ordered a bulk order of Toys from the Mattel corporation and made additional purchases of toys and gift cards at the Target in Serramonte,” Byrd explained.

The coronavirus stay-at-home orders have greatly affected The Salvation Army’s Red Kettle Campaign. The iconic kettles that’s seen on store corners and at store entrances during the Christmas season, has so far brought in $25,000 in San Francisco this year, a fraction of the $108,000 the campaign collected by this time last year. The organization has put out fewer red kettles and relied heavily on on-line donations.  

But with the needs of underserved communities greater than ever, organizers will continue to do what they can to try and provide.

Later this week, the non-profit planned to kick-off a revised version of its annual in-person shopping experience, during which parents, assisted by a personal shopper got to choose their Christmas gifts at a Salvation Army location turned toy shop.

Like everything else this year, adjustments have been made: The usual one day fair will be held over five days during which pre-bagged, individualized gifts will be distributed to hundreds of families in need. It's one of the many modified programs The Salvation Army has held this year as part of its renewed holiday campaign, "Help Rescue Christmas."