Richard Devinki / KANSAN
Linda Laffen, co-director of Penn House, wraps presents donated for needy families in Douglas County. Penn House is a Lawrence organization that provides families with Christmas dinners, presents and gift certificates through its Adopt-a Family program.
Penn House provides help in Adopt-a-Family
By Allison Rose Lopez Special to the Kansan
Have you ever been in a position in which you wondered whether you would have anything to eat Christmas Day? Has your family ever forgone Christmas in order to pay the monthly bills?
Many low-income Lawrence residents face these problems this time of year. Luckily, there is a place they can go for a helping hand and asympathetic ear.
Penn House, 1035 Pennsylvania St., is a nonprofit organization that helps families every year with the Adopt-a-Family program. Last year, Penn House helped more than 200 families celebrate a traditional Christmas that otherwise would have been impossible.
"We like to think of ourselves as a self-help organization," said Bessie Nichols, director of Penn House. "We're here to help people help themselves."
Penn House organizes the Adopt-a-Family program with four other area organizations. These five organizations are members of the Holiday Bureau, which was formed to make sure that families are not adopted more than once and that as many families as possible are helped. The other members of the Holiday Bureau are: the Salvation Army Church, Ballard Community Center Inc., Indian Center of Lawrence and Help Connection, Eudora.
The Holiday Bureau also works to maintain anonymity. People who adopt families or make donations never meet those they help. Nichols said that this policy allowed parents to reach out for help and to maintain pride and independence.
Nichols said that adopted families were provided with food for Christmas dinner and a personal item or toy for each family member. Many donations are given as gift certificates to Dillons, Checkers Foods
and Food 4 Less. Nichols said that some families preferred gift certificates because they could then choose their own food. Donations do not have to be large to make a difference, she said.
"A $5 gift certificate could mean a lot to an elderly couple or a single person," Nichols said.
John Travers, Iola junior, has volunteered every Tuesday morning for the past two months at Penn House. He said that working at Penn House helped him realize how fortunate he was and gave him a better sense of the problems of the underprivileged in the Lawrence community.
"It really brings the problem home," Travers said. "It's very humbling."
Linda Laffen, co-director of Penn House and organizer of the Adopt-a-Family project, said that the response of the Lawrence community was encouraging.
"The community always comes through for us," Laffen said. "It's just a great feeling."
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COMMUNITY • *K-you* • December 8, 1993