A mini bottle of shampoo. A gift card. A kind note. All contained in a specially wrapped shoebox.
These small gifts aim to bring comfort to women who are homeless because they have fled abuse or difficult living situations.
Known as The Shoebox Project, the volunteer-driven charitable organization, was founded in Canada with the hope of brightening the days of women living in shelters and let them know that their community cares about them.
Some South Bay women recently brought the organization that to the Bay Area and are gearing up for her second shoebox drive just in time for Mother’s Day.
The Bay Area chapter co-founder Sharon Wong said the small packages have a big impact.
“A lot women leave home in the middle of the night with just the clothes on their back,” Wong said. “We are able to give them some basic necessities to help them move on as well as small, luxurious gifts that they might not splurge on for themselves. We hope that it helps them realize someone cares about them and gives them a new impetus to move forward in life. It’s about showing support and caring for women in need.”
Wong started the chapter from her home in Palo Alto along with her business partner last fall and it slowly spread to Cupertino and San Jose to Oakland and Pleasanton.
“The fact that folks are willing to drive for two hours to come to me with donations shows just how generous and kind and willing people are to give to this cause,” Wong said.
An assembly line of men and women filled nearly 70 shoeboxes on March 25 at Cupertino’s software company SugarCRM.
“The event exceeded our expectations,” said Sherry Pulvers, SugarCRM’s vice president of people and places. “It was awesome, and so rewarding. We had a goal of 50 shoeboxes and our [group] gave from the heart and created and donated 67 shoeboxes.”
The company also donated four bags of supplies to assist The Shoebox Project with future shoeboxes.
Since it was founded, the Bay Area chapter has grown to donate to seven different shelters in the area including Asian Americans for Community Involvement in San Jose, Catholic Charities SF, Community Overcoming Relationship Abuse Support in San Mateo, Matri in Santa Clara, Next Door Solutions to Domestic Violence in San Jose, Women’s Asian Shelter in San Francisco and the YWCA of Silicon Valley.
Lynn Engel, Director of Development and Communications for CORA, said the shoeboxes really touched the women who received them last Christmas.
“The treasures inside the boxes are personal as though someone shopped for just them,” Engel said. “Despite where they are in their life that decorated box makes them feel special. The gift box says you are important and someone cares enough to make Christmas special.”
CORA provides safety, support and healing for individuals who experience abuse in an intimate relationship, and educates the community to break the cycle of domestic violence. The number of calls the organization receives on its Crisis Hotline now exceeds 11,000 per year.
President and CEO of Asian Americans for Community Involvement in San Jose Michele Lew agreed.
“I think for many clients escaping violence or a desperate situation sometimes feel like nobody has their back or that nobody is looking out for them,” Lew said. “So to get this gift out of the sky that is really designed for them, for women, helps boost their spirits and let’s them know that the community is there help.”
AACI provides services to more than 12,000 people in Santa Clara County every year.
The deadline to donate shoeboxes is April 30. For more information contact Sharon Wong at paloalto@shoeboxproject.com.
