City Employees Work Together to Help Families in Need

A number of Madison area families will have holidays a little brighter thanks to the generosity of Madison City employees. Eight city departments adopted a family, sometimes two or more, providing clothes, toys, and gift cards for necessities such as gas, bus passes, and food.

"There are hundreds of groups around the area that provide opportunities to help others in need this time of year," said Mayor Paul Soglin. "It is really heartening to see City staff working together to provide additional assistance."

The Mayor’s office has adopted a family through the Dane County Human Services Department since 1990. General information is provided regarding the ages of the family members, clothing sizes and their interests. Staff collect money, shop and wrap the gifts which are then ready for delivery. Mayor Soglin wanted to see if other agencies were interested in similar projects this year and the response was overwhelming.

Involved departments included Finance, Madison Public Library, Mayor’s Office, Streets Department, Community Development Division, City Assessor, Monona Terrace, and Association of Madison Fire Supervisors. All agencies devised their own coordination effort for providing the gifts.

"I know City employees are incredibly generous during the holidays and year-round and many departments are already involved in holiday gift giving," said Soglin. "The Police Department’s Shop with a Cop and the Parks Departments involvement in Toys for Tots are just a couple of examples, but having other agencies step up is really heartening."

There are giving trees in churches, shopping centers and other facilities throughout the area that people interested in purchasing gifts for those in need can access. Additional opportunities can be found at United Way's Wish List.

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