Events

Master Calendar

Community-Wide Food Drives

• Spring*: May 2 Drop-and-Go Food Collection Event
• Summer: July 11th
• Fall: October 3rd and 4th

*(Click here for more information about this special event)

Families need food all year long – but often during the year, our food donations dwindle and our pantry shelves can be nearly empty. To prepare for these slower times, Families Forward partners with local grocery stores and community groups for one weekend in the Spring, Summer, and Fall to collect food donations to be able serve hungry families every month of the year.

Volunteer Groups are needed at grocery stores to ask shoppers to purchase additional food items and to bring all collected food donations back to the Food Pantry. Volunteers are also needed to help unload cars and help stock our shelves. To watch a brief, informative video about volunteering for a food drive, please click here.

If you are interested in collecting donations at a grocery store for an upcoming event, please contact our Volunteer Assistant at  us at biniestra@families-forward.org or (949) 379-8373.

Back to School Backpacks

Back to School Backpacks and Children’s Clothing – July & August

Do you remember that end-of-summer feeling with “Back to School” signs on every store window? Having those new supplies in your hand on the first day made it fun to go back.

We invite the community to come together and give every student that same opportunity by participating in our Back to School program. Grade-appropriate school supplies and backpacks will be distributed to low-income elementary, middle, and high school students in July-August. These supplies will help students start on the same foot as their peers and build their confidence for the coming school year. We also collect new and like-new clothing and shoes for school-age children. Families in our Back to School Program will select school clothing that fits their child’s needs.

• Click here to read more and see our list of needed school and clothing items.
• Click here to be directed to Back to School Volunteering information.
• Click here to sign up to host a Backpacks/School Supply drive.

Thanksgiving Baskets – November

Each year, Families Forward holds a Thanksgiving-themed grocery distribution for local families in need. The weekend before Thanksgiving, families come to our program center to receive all of the traditional Thanksgiving fixings to cook a warm, delicious holiday meal. While parents pick up their baskets, children participate in fun-filled activities such as face painting and arts & crafts.

With community support, Families Forward is able to provide nearly 800 families with a special holiday meal to share with their loved ones.

How you can help:

• Donate Thanksgiving themed food and/or host a Thanksgiving food drive during the months of October and November. For more information on how to host a food drive, click here. For ideas on what times of Thanksgiving food we need most, click here.
• Volunteer at our Thanksgiving Basket distribution the weekend before Thanksgiving

Adopt-a-Family – December

Holidays can be a very stressful time for families who struggle to make ends meet. Imagine passing by all the new shiny toys, your child’s eyes aglow, realizing that you can’t afford to give them a special holiday gift.

The Adopt-a-Family Program gives individuals, companies and community organizations the opportunity to spread warmth and bring holiday joy to families in need. Last year, we provided holiday cheer to more than 800 struggling families, providing gifts for more than 2,200 children. Donations are accepted from the beginning of November through early December, so the children’s “wish lists” can be filled. In order to participate in this program, you must be able to deliver donations to our office in Irvine.

Click here to Adopt-a-Family.

“Help Them Home” Giving Day

Giving Day 2020 was an incredible success! With your help, Families Forward more than doubled our goal and raised $210,250 to help end family homelessness in Orange County. 19 organizations collectively raised $1,789,854 to Help Them Home. Thank you to all who gave so generously and helped us unlock $65,000 in matching funds from the Families Forward Board of Directors, A Little Help Foundation and Decorative Arts Society. It provides hope during these uncertain times as families in need are facing additional challenges due to the COVID-19 outbreak. We couldn’t have done it without you!

A Giving Day for OC’s Homeless: 24 Hours. 18 Organizations. 1 Cause. April 22, 2020.

Can you imagine a future in which everyone in Orange County has a safe place to sleep every night?

We can. But we need your help.

That’s why Families Forward and 17 other homeless service providers in Orange County are coming together for a day of giving on April 22, 2020 to restore dignity and hope to homeless parents and children.

Your donation helps a child have a safe place to sleep tonight!

Who are the children we meet every day at Families Forward?

They are hopeful, innocent children who don’t always understand why their parents have lost their home. They just feel fear and uncertainty because they are moving from place to place, with no bed of their own and no place to have a normal life. Their parents are mostly facing an unexpected crisis that turned their lives upside down – whether it’s a job loss, medical issues or fracturing of a family.

How can you help?

With your support, Families Forward can move hundreds of children into immediate shelter, whether it’s a motel stay, locating an emergency shelter, or moving into one of our available homes for a short-term stay. Give now and you can make all these options possible for a local, homeless child today.