Otak Holiday Giving: Gratitude & Shared Blessings
December, 2021
Holidays at Otak offer a chance to reflect that our professional blessings stem from the communities we serve. We are grateful for the opportunity to do work that enhances the places we live, work, and play. We are also compelled to give back and to pay our blessings forward. This year, we carry on a tradition begun in 2020, in all our Otak offices—Oregon, Colorado, Washington—to help this holiday season through identified local charities.
Otak’s Oregon and SW Washington offices jointly selected the Christmas Family Adoption Foundation (CFAF). CFAF began in 2002 when its founder bought, wrapped, and delivered Christmas gifts to one family in his Oregon City neighborhood. Others joined his effort to help more families, and, since 2010 when the 501c (3) nonprofit organization was established, the charity has delivered joy to more than 4,000 families in the Portland-Vancouver-Salem region. CFAF serves as a clearinghouse to connect families that have been nominated by social work entities, with individuals or groups wanting to spread Christmas cheer.
In addition to CFAF, our Vancouver office will also continue its support of the Walk and Knock Food Drive.
Our Colorado office decided to once again work with the Boulder County Family-To-Family Holiday Program. Family-to-Family has been operating for more than 40 years and serves financially struggling families and individuals who are involved with child protection, foster care, adolescent, and disabled adult protection programs. Caseworkers and support specialists refer their most vulnerable families to this program. The program brightens the lives of families who will otherwise do without this holiday season. Last year they served about 500 families that included more than 1,550 individuals.
The Boulder Community Housing Corporation is the nonprofit 501(c)3 organization that serves as the umbrella agency for the Family-to-Family Holiday Gift Program. This program provides gift cards to families of $50 per member.
The Otak Redmond & Everett, WA offices will be working with Hopelink again this year. Hopelink is a Redmond nonprofit organization that focuses on helping build healthy communities and eliminating poverty in King County, WA. The Redmond/Everett office will also be supporting the local United Way Campaign in Snohomish County, WA.
Tina Ely, a Portland project manager, and Judith Moses, a Portland project coordinator, have spearheaded the 2021 Holiday Giving Program at Otak, coordinating with Otak leadership and the teams within each office. “Last year a small group of us sponsored a three-person family through CFAF. This year we hope to bring holiday cheer to around 30 people in our communities thanks to the amazing support from Otak and its employees.”
We are proud to support these charitable groups and the good work they do. We invite you to consider making a donation to any one of these organizations, or another charity close to your heart or in your own community.