A grandmother needs a crib and a bed so her grandchildren can stay with her; a working mom needs a supply of diapers to leave at daycare for her toddler; a family living in a converted garage needs a refrigerator to maintain custody of the children. Through the Adopt a Child Abuse Caseworker (ACAC) Program church groups provide such emergency items to children and families on the case load of an adopted caseworker.
During the holiday, families have special needs. At Thanksgiving ACAC provides food baskets for all of our caseworker's needy families. At Christmas all the children assigned to our caseworker receive a present through the Foster Care Project's Angel Tree, and, in the spring, volunteers prepare Easter Baskets for the children. ACAC collects funds and recruits volunteers to sponsor, in cooperation with the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS), an annual back-to-school shopping spree for 30 children. We also provide backpacks and school supplies.
Ongoing requests include fast food coupons for family celebrations; children's clothing in very good condition; board games, new or in good condition; movie passes; VCR or DVD movies; children's toys in excellent condition; and Target gift cards for teens to buy clothing.