Christmas time is a time for recognizing blessings, but it’s also a time for taking it upon oneself to help others.  

In honor of this holiday season, the Colorado Mesa University (CMU) Department of Business partnered with the Adopt a Family organization in order to sponsor two families in need: the Lorimor/Snider and Duncan/Baggs families. According to the Department of Business professional staff assistant Annie Shoberg, the amount of support shown by the CMU business department as well as other faculty and student body members was overwhelming.  

“We’ve had a lot of support. Faculty come in, and even now that we have two families, they’ll come in with two gift cards. It’s not like they’re just doing the same amount that they were last year. They’ve really stepped it up even a notch this year to even give more,” Shoberg said.  

The gifts donated to the families were compiled this past Friday, Dec. 7. There were many gifts and other items, and it took six people to with carts and dollies to transport everything to the University Center. These items included things of basic necessity such as shampoo, laundry detergent, and Walmart gift cards, as well as fun things such as a nerf gun that shoots toilet paper, for example.

“I think for most of us we just feel that it’s nice to be in a position to be able to help and care for people in the communities at a time that they need it,” Shoberg said. She also added that part of the reason this experience was so memorable for her personally was because when she was younger her dad was on a sympathy strike one Christmas and some family friends came over with gifts which helped her and her family have a Christmas that they “might not have otherwise had.”  

“I just thought it was such a memorable thing. It happened all those years ago, but it’s still a memory of how much they cared for somebody else [who] was a need that season,” Shoberg said. “And so I think that it’s the same for these families, that this is a one year blip on the radar that is memorable for them that they feel cared about during the season.”  

In an email released to the business faculty, Shoberg expressed her gratitude to the people who donated gifts and money to the cause, and to everyone who helped out throughout the process.  

“Thanks to your generosity, the holiday season is a little brighter for these two families,” Shoberg said.  

The CMU Department of Business plans to take part in Adopt a Family next year, in order to once again help families in need have a happy holiday.