This past Christmastime, a donor stepped up from our Shoebox Christmas Program. They were participating in the program via their office building and had enrolled their company to participate. Initially, their goal was to contribute to the shoeboxes as one of their many donation collections they run that time of year.

As they prepared to share the program details with their employees they attended an informational meeting. In this meeting, they talked about things to give in the shoeboxes, such as personal care items, combs, toothbrushes, and more. But they also talked about how many kids the shoeboxes would help- 3,000. In this meeting, they learned that there are over 6,000 homeless children in Bexar County. A shockingly high number for anyone’s backyard.

After the meeting, the owners, Candy & Ajay Gupta decided to give their annual donation of $10,000 all to Open Arms Children’s Shelter. We were able to catch up with Candy recently to ask her a few questions about her donation. Here is what she had to say:

“Every year we donate to causes that we are passionate about, and thisyear we learned just how big the homeless children population in Bexar County is- we felt compelled to do something about it. Many of our employees got involved as well. Some contributed time for the Christmas Shoebox challenge, other’s donated shoeboxes, and other’s have volunteered time to other areas.

Participating in the Shoebox program gave me an opportunity to spend family time preparing shoeboxes and teaching my son about the importance of giving. It’s great tradition to start with families to remember how fortunate most people are and to appreciate what we have. We’re definitely planning on participating again.”

Thanks to Stirista and the Gupta’s for their continued and generous support. It’s donors like this that make our work possible and for that, we are truly grateful.

Stirista is a data-driven marketing agency that specializes in creating custom audience segments and executing campaigns via digital, email, and social channels.

Their multi-channel marketing approach allows us to evaluate data unlike any other provider, which results in clients generating real conversions and leads. With some of the most comprehensive real-time databases in the world, Stirista gives a 360-degree view of an individual, getting you in front of the right people through email and online advertising. Their growth and success in eight years have made them a trusted industry leader recognized for its expertise in helping companies acquire new clients. To learn more about Stirista click here.

If you like to learn more about how to donate to JJM, the Christmas Shoebox Program, or the Open Arms Children’s Shelter, please click here.