November 27, 2008

Family Giving Tree needs warehouse space

The Family Giving Tree is looking for a warehouse to use throughout the month of December to process the gifts from the group’s huge gift-giving drive.

The nonprofit charity is looking for a 100,000-square-foot warehouse to help put smiles on the faces of children at holiday time. The group provides gifts for thousands of children.

The 19-year-old organization, which has no religious affiliation, helps needy children throughout the Bay Area. During its tenure, the Family Giving Tree has provided more than 600,000 gifts to low-income children. It also holds a backpack giveaway in August to ensure that more than 15,000 children have sufficient supplies and the means to carry them to help them participate in school.

The group has 12 employees with a work force of more than 8,000 volunteers. Funding comes from private citizens, companies and grants. It receives no government funding. It provides gifts to more than 250 social service agencies including Next Door Solutions to Domestic Violence, City Team Ministries, EMQ Children and Family Services and Loaves and Fishes.

Among the companies and organizations that donate or work as hosts are Wells Fargo Bank, Sun Microsystems, National Semiconductor, eBay, Hewlitt-Packard, Cadence Design Systems, Yahoo, Oracle, Microsoft and Google. Among its awards are a coveted four-star rating from Charity Navigator Web site, which evaluates national charities.

The charity needs a 100,000-square-foot warehouse for the month of December with two loading docks, lighting, restrooms, cement floor areas for sorting toys, and adjacent offices to train volunteers if possible, but not necessary. The location can be in Milpitas, San Jose, Santa Clara or Sunnyvale.

The donation would earn you a public thank you on the Web site, a public thank you in the Family Giving Tree’s newsletter, with a readership of more than 5,000 and a public thank you in a full-page ad donated by the San Jose Mercury News.

In addition, your donation can be used as a full write-off. The Giving Tree provides its own 24-hour security and insurance, it will clean the property after Christmas and it offers references.

For more information about the Family Giving Tree, visit the Web site at www.familygivingtree.org and for more information, contact Jennifer Cullenbine, the Family Giving Tree’s CEO at (408) 946-3111, ext. 226 or by e-mail at Jennifer@familygivingtree.org.