Looking Back to Look Forward
Dear Friends,
As we begin 2026, I’ve found myself reflecting on what our amazing community made possible together in 2025.
Through our Back-to-School and Holiday Wish Drives, Family Giving Tree served more than 83,000 people across the Bay Area (and beyond!). This included 33,178 students who received backpacks and school supplies so they were ready to learn on their first day of school. Through our Holiday Wish Drive, 49,884 children, seniors, and adults received gifts. This impact is made possible because our community continues to show up for its neighbors through volunteering, leading a drive, donating school supplies and gifts, engaging their employer, or making a financial donation. At Family Giving Tree, our work centers on bringing joy, growing hope, and building community.
Bringing Joy
This holiday season, we saw so many moments of joy come to life. This included our partnership with the San Jose Sharks Foundation, in which we received a grant for $30,000 to support our Holiday Wish Drive. The season kicked off with an on-site wrapping party at our Community Hub, where Sharks Foundation staff, Sharks and Barracuda players, and team mascots Sharky and Frenzy wrapped gifts together. It culminated with Sharks players attending a distribution at Alma Community Center, where families gathered to celebrate the holidays and each child received their exact wish directly from the players (and wrapped by the Sharks!). Watching a boy unwrap his gift that day, his eyes wide with excitement at his new Lego set, brought me so much joy. You can check out their video on our partnership here.
Growing Hope
For me, hope is reflected in the feedback we hear from our partner agencies, who share the impact of these programs on the families and individuals they serve. This feedback reminds us that these programs help people feel supported and seen.
One Holiday Wish Drive partner shared this reflection after their distribution:
“I want to give you a heartfelt thank you for the amazing gifts provided to the children at our property. To go along with the Family Giving Tree gifts, our organization held a Winter Social on December 17 for all residents, which included a visit from Santa and Mrs. Claus, cookie decorating, holiday music, and letters to Santa. The event drew more than 40 people, making it the second-most-attended event of the year, just behind our National Night Out. Many children met Santa for the first time, and because of your donation, he was able to give a gift to each child who attended. Thank you for everything you do to make all children’s Christmas wishes come true.”
Building Community
Our impact is the result of people joining together. Agencies, corporate partners, volunteers, drive leaders, donors, and foundations all play a crucial role in making this work possible. Building community means recognizing that each contribution matters and that, together, we strengthen the support available to families and individuals across our region.
I’ve shared with our staff that my word of the year for 2026 is intention. Times are challenging for the nonprofit sector, and rooting our work in hope, joy, and community will keep us moving forward. As an organization, we remain committed to ensuring our recipients receive items that are needed, high-quality, and provide not only joy and hope, but also peace of mind for caregivers.
Thank you for being part of the Family Giving Tree and for the role you play in this shared work.
I look forward to what we will continue to build together in 2026.
In Community and Gratitude,
Jill Mitsch
Chief Executive Officer
