Just hours before the winter's first snowflakes sprinkled the Hill yesterday, students, alumni and local families gathered in Aidekman Arts Center to usher in the winter at the 20th annual Tufts Foster Children Holiday Party.
The event, co-sponsored by The Boston Tufts Alliance, the Association of Tufts Alumnae and the Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service, invites roughly 300 foster families from Division of Social Services offices in Malden, Cambridge and Arlington to Tufts each year. Between 125 and 150 families attend, according to Lisa Richtmann (LA '87), who has been involved in the party for 14 years and was one of this year's main coordinators.
"It started as a method for community outreach ... Over the years, we've grown," she said.
Every child who attends receives a toy and a book, which the party's planners - a group of alumni with the help of the Alumni Relations Office - gather through donations or purchase at low cost from vendors. At the party, there are refreshments donated by local vendors, music and a variety of arts and crafts stations with everything from paper snowflake decoration to face painting.
"We're trying to provide a fun holiday outing for many children who have had turmoil in their lives," Richtmann said.
As cold winds howled outside, yesterday's party was packed to the brim with children and their families as they visited over 12 different arts and crafts stations and ate food donated by JP Licks, Welsch's, Aquafina, Super Stop and Shop, Shaw's, Johnny Foodmart and seven different local pizza restaurants.
Families who attended said the event was a success and were grateful for the volunteers for hosting it.
"It's fabulous, heartwarming for the families and kids. The foster families appreciate it," said North Reddington foster parent Maria Gattuso as her foster son, a red-haired toddler named Joseph, sat on the floor picking wrapping paper off of his gift.
Gattuso said the party is a chance for her entire family to get together and bond - something they don't always have time to do.
"My daughter is 18, and she said, 'Mom, we've been late for the last two years. This year we're going to be on time because we don't get to do everything.' So even for her, it's a special event and we really look forward to it," Gattuso said.
Debbie Terzian, a family resource supervisor from the Malden Division of Social Services office, said that in addition to bringing foster children together with their families, the party helps foster families in the area meet each other and share their experiences. She said about 60 children from her office attended this year with their families.
"It gives the children a chance to meet other foster children and other foster families, so they know they're not alone," Terzian said. "They meet other children from their neighborhood, from their same block who are in foster care, so they know they're not the only ones in this situation."
The event also helps to raise awareness of the many children nationwide who are in need of homes and families, according to Lil Ronan, an adoption worker in the Malden office.
"We need homes for children 5 to 7 years old, and we can always use people who want to be foster parents," Ronan said.
Gattuso said seeing such a large number of foster families in one place is always a wake-up call for her.
"It's a little overwhelming for me to see how many kids are here who don't have a permanent home," she said. "It always chokes me up ... you look around here and you see people of all different sizes, shapes, colors, religions."
As the event has grown over the years, from a small party in 1987 to a large event that brings together multiple communities of foster families, it has required an increasing amount of participation from student and alumni volunteers. According to Jonathan Burton, the event's logistics coordinator, this year's party drew more interest from students than in the past.
"It's always been an alumni-planned program, but recently we've seen an increasing number of student volunteers," Burton said. "That's really encouraging, because it means there will be interest in the event for years to come."
According to Burton, the alumni coordinators begin planning for the event at the end of August. A group of 10 to 12 volunteers works throughout the fall to coordinate the donations, while student volunteers help with set-up and clean-up and man various stations during the actual event.
"This party survives because of incredibly dedicated alumni and student volunteers," he said. "I'm really proud to be a part of it. You see how happy those kids are and it's a great feeling."
Michelle Roach, a social worker from the Malden office, said the foster families are grateful for the event.
"Every year, everybody looks forward to this event," Roach said. "It's nice to have so many people volunteer their time - it really means a lot to the foster children and their families."
