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Bethel Park nonprofit offers hope and support during holiday season

By Jacob Calvin Meyer staff Writer jmeyer@thealmanac.Net 3 min read
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While the holiday season for some is the time of year to relax, buy presents and spend time with friends and family, a Bethel Park woman wants people in the South Hills to add another thing to do to that list: Give to those in need.

Pamela Colella is the president of Adopt a Family South Hills, a nonprofit organization that finds people in the community to donate their time and money to buy presents for a local family in need during the holiday season.

“I feel like there’s such a need locally,” Colella said. “As a kid growing up, we always did Toys for Tots, and you just don’t see exactly where those gifts are going. I feel like people know that you’re helping the community and they’re helping their neighbor and maybe the kid next to yours in class. It’s more meaningful.”

Colella recalled a mother of one of the families in need last year talking about the difficulties for her family during the holiday season.

“How do you tell your 10-year-old that Santa can’t bring that this year?” asked the mother.

“You don’t. You can’t,” Colella said. “That’s why I’m here.”

This year will be the second that Colella is leading the project, which used to be hosted by the Bethel Park Police Department. After the person at the police department who led the project retired, no one took it over for a couple of years until Colella brought it back last year.

They helped 27 families last year, including 94 children from newborns to 18, along with a few senior citizens, Colella said.

“I’m hoping we can do double this year.”

After Colella gathers a list of families in need through the local school districts or churches, community members may then “adopt a family,” thus inheriting every family member’s “wish list.”

Pull Quote

“How do you tell your 10-year-old that Santa can’t bring that this year?”

“For the people that need help it is anonymous,” Colella said. “That helps them to come forward and ask for help if they hadn’t before.”

The sponsors then purchase and wrap a few of the gifts off each of their adoptees’ wish lists and drops them off to Colella by the drop-off date.

“Everyone that does decide to adopt a family, you’re not expected to buy everything on their list; it’s a wish list. If you take two or three things on the list they’d be more than happy to have those,” Colella said. “I usually tell sponsors to pick two or three things that they really need and one or two things that they want.”

Colella then stores the gifts in a donated space from the Bethel Park Volunteer Fire Department before giving them to the families in need.

Businesses sometimes adopt families and some people just give money to Colella, which is used by her to buy gifts for the larger families in need.

“I think when people hear about why they’re giving their gifts, then they’re more apt to do more as well,” Colella said.

The drop-off day when all the gifts must be brought to the Bethel Park Fire Department is Dec. 15.

To reach Colella, email her at adoptafamilysouthhills@outlook.com or call her at 412-360-9658.

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