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The MOST Adopt A Family program is an annual effort by MOST volunteers and donors to provide assistance to multiple birth families in need. During the 9 years MOST has conducted this program, Adopt A Family has helped almost 200 families and 1000 children. 100% of donations designated for the MOST Adopt A Family program is given to the families.
MOST welcomes contributions to the program from individuals, families, local support groups, and corporate sponsors. For details about the program, see the Adopt A Family FAQs.
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See photos, read thank-you notes from participants, and find out more
about previous MOST Holiday Adopt a Family Programs:
2007 Adopt A Family Program
2006 Adopt A Family Program |
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Frequently Asked Questions About
MOST's Adopt A Family Program |
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The holiday season is a time of family gatherings and gift giving: of festive decorations and wishes for peace and goodwill. But not every family can enjoy this special time of year. Some are faced with hardships or sadness that make feeling the warmth and joy of the season difficult.
With this in mind, we ask that you please consider sharing the information below with others who may be moved to reach out to a special family in the midst of strife and struggle. Although this program is promoted primarily during the holidays, Adopt A Family is actually a year long endeavor preparing for the holidays or in case of an emergency at other times during the year. For example, MOST provided outreach assistance to families affected by the California wild fires in 2004 and Hurricane Katrina in 2005. |
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What is sent to the families?
 MOST asks that donors please send a small toy and new outfit for each child (unwrapped). We also like to include in each box a 1 or 2 yr membership to MOST (*see details below), wrapping paper, a disposable camera, tape, a gift for Mom, batteries (if needed for any of the toys), along with the list of items each family needs.
*Note: a one or two year membership to MOST costs $25 per year and includes MOST’s magazine SUPERTWINS. Membership provides support and valuable information to families with multiples, so please consider adding this gift with your donation.
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I would love to do this but I just can not afford to purchase all the items the family needs? What else can I do to help?
 Many, people feel this way. If you wish, you can contribute to part of a single family’s wish list by just letting us know what you will be sending. We will try to identify another donor to cover the remaining items. You can join with others by asking your extended family, clubs, companies, fraternities, Bible study groups, book clubs etc. to contribute to one or maybe two families. MOST also has families who send items for the program, but not for a specific family, such as a case of disposable cameras.
This type of contribution is fine too and everyone is welcome to do this as long as the items are new. We do not accept used items for this program, only new items. Over the years, donors have sent stuffed animals, videos, gift certificates, memberships, several packages of thank you cards, a roll of stamps, and books. MOST distributes these items to families where they fit best. We’re proud to say that 100% of the items donated to this program go directly to the families in need. Donors can also help offset the cost of purchasing the packing and shipping items needed.
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I do not have the time to do additional shopping over the holidays, but I would still like to help? What other options are available?
 Many people and groups send monetary donations to support the Adopt A Family and other programs that can be designated toward a specific family or the purchase of specific items needed for the program. If you wish, you can pay by credit card or check, and we will buy the gifts or purchase gift cards from stores in the family’s community. MOST also collects store gift cards (with no expiration date), and general funds to be used for this program or other needs of MOST throughout the entire year!
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What do I need to do to adopt a family?
 Generally around Thanksgiving each year, MOST posts a list of families on our website. MOST also sends out monthly press releases that will announce the start of this program as well as other MOST activities through out the year, so if you would like to receive these email notices, you can sign up online. If you have a particular family in mind, just let us know by email or telephone call to make sure they are still available. During the holiday season MOST updates the information daily by adding new families and designating families as adopted.
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How does the program work after the gifts are sent?
 Boxes are sent directly to the MOST Outreach Director's home office and donations are sent to MOST’s PO Box. A shipping box is set up for each family with a tag that indicates the ages, gender and sizes of each child. The donations are inventoried and placed in the box as they arrive. Included in every box is a pre-addressed/stamped envelope with a thank you note inside. Our hope is that everyone who receives a box will return the thank you note so MOST can forward it to the adopting family. All the packages are tracked to insure they are getting where they need to go.
The goal every year is for donations to arrive at MOST soon after Thanksgiving. MOST typically adds about 10 additional families from Thanksgiving until the boxes are mailed, and we ship most donation to families the week before Christmas or Hanukah.
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How does MOST know which families are in need?
 MOST starts in the summer by sending an email to our local Area Coordinators (AC) asking them to identify families of multiples in their community who may be in need of help. Every family is nominated by a MOST volunteer; individuals can not nominate themselves. Sometimes we hear about families featured on television programs or newspaper /magazine articles and will ask a local volunteer to reach out to this family on our behalf to find out if they need local or national support.
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Are programs like Adopt A Family available locally?
Over the years, MOST has mentored many local groups helping them develop their own Adopt A Family program within their communities. Many of these local efforts have been quite successfully! Some times though, one area has many families in need and the group can not support all of them their own. In these situations MOST is happy to help.
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How is a family selected for this program?
 MOST compiles a list of families nominated by their local ACs and review the previous year’s list to identify any special circumstances that may warrant a family’s involvement in the program for a second year. (As a general rule, a family is included in the program for only one year. Unfortunately, MOST is only able to make very few exceptions to this rule since so many worthy families are in need each year.)
MOST assembles a handful of people who make contact with these families to develop a list of items they may need. (Volunteers to help with this part are always welcome. Contact MOST for more information.) We ask that volunteers try very hard not to reveal to the family that they are collecting the background information needed to nominate them for MOST’s program. MOST’s goal is for families not to know that they have been nominated especially if they are not adopted or we do not receive enough donations to support all of our families by the end of the holiday season. MOST feels that keeping all nominated families and donors anonymous is very important. Although we do our very best, MOST can not guarantee that every family will be adopted.
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Each year we are touched by the wonderful people and organizations willing to give from their hearts to help these children have a happy holiday. We hope that you, your employer, or family and friends will consider adopting one of our families or donating to MOST so that we can continue supporting families year round.
Email MOST to adopt a family in need or call the MOST office at 631-859-1110. You can also donate to MOST online today.
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