Eboni Morrow, a Family Advocate and Youth Specialist with DEFY, stands next to some of the gifts donated by different Beloit organizations. The gifts on the list included toys, household supplies and other items.
DEFY Domestic Abuse and other Beloit organizations helped bring joy to over a hundred families and individuals involved with DEFY by donating different gifts on their wish lists.
Eboni Morrow, a Family Advocate and Youth Specialist with DEFY, stands next to some of the gifts donated by different Beloit organizations. The gifts on the list included toys, household supplies and other items.
DEFY Domestic Abuse and other Beloit organizations helped bring joy to over a hundred families and individuals involved with DEFY by donating different gifts on their wish lists.
BELOIT—DEFY Domestic Abuse joined with other local Beloit organizations to provide hundreds of families and individuals with gifts and supplies during the holiday season.
DEFY asked families and individuals they had served during the past year to list things they would like for the holidays. The lists ultimately included things like gas cards, body wash, clothes, toys and other gift cards. DEFY then reached out to area organizations including for-profit businesses, other non-profits, churches and clubs, to help fulfill the lists.
DEFY Executive Director of Survivor Empowerment Services Kelsey Hood Christenson said in a release this week that some businesses adopted entire families, and some organizations like churches put up a giving tree and members of the congregation picked the items and brought them in.
She said that of the organizations involved, 63 donors adopted an entire family and bought them everything on their list.
In the end, DEFY provided 260 people with gifts. Of those, 179 were children and 81 were adults. Volunteers helped wrap the gifts. Christenson said some of the families had their gifts delivered and some families came by and picked them up.
Christenson said that she has worked with DEFY for 10 years and it has been doing something for families during holidays for many years.
“Every year it gets bigger and bigger,†she said. “We had more organizations and people help out and bring joy to these families and people.â€
“It’s a nice way to brighten the holiday season,†Christenson continued. “This time of the year is often difficult for survivors of abuse; they sometimes have to move away, deal with family issues or work with many financial challenges. Anything we can do to make this time easier and bring some cheer means a lot.â€
Christenson said after reflecting on what they were able to accomplish she is in “awe†of how much support the initiative got from the community.
DEFY Domestic Abuse is part of Family Services of Southern Wisconsin and Northern Illinois, Inc., and helps survivors of domestic abuse tap into support offered by Family Services. Such services include financial planning, parenting support, therapy and counseling, legal advocacy and community outreach.
In addition to DEFY Domestic Abuse, Family Services of Southern Wisconsin also offers individual & family counseling, a sexual assault recovery program, an employee assistance program, Youth2-Youth 4 Change and The Neighborhood Resilience Project.
Family Services is a funded partner of United Way Blackhawk Region, United Way of Green County, and the Community Foundation of Southern Wisconsin.
