Jaeryeong Kim
Pronouns: she/her
Research Mentor(s): Zachary Rowe
Research Mentor School/College/Department: Friends of Parkside / NonUM
Program: UROPF
Session: Session 7 (4:40pm – 5:30pm)
Authors: Hannah Kim, Cristina Prall, Kathleen Alsup, Glenn Fox
Abstract
The Friends of Parkside (FOP) is a 501(c)(3), non-profit, community-based organization located on Detroit’s east side in the Villages at Parkside, a public housing complex. As part of their mission, the Friends of Parkside sponsors its Annual Parkside Christmas Gift Day, more commonly known as the Dear Santa Helper Project. The program aims to make a Parkside child’s Christmas wish come true by working with community-based organizations, agencies, and institutions to distribute gifts to participating families. Two groups are eligible for the program: children from ages 5-14 who live in Parkside Villages, and children from ages 5-14 who do not live in Parkside Villages but have participated in a FOP-sponsored afterschool program. Every year, the FOP staff recruit donors, also known as Santa Helpers, who are willing to adopt a child and purchase one or more items from their wish list. Following the event, a survey is given out to Santa Helpers and community members who have participated in the program. An analysis of the survey responses will help us to better understand the outcome of our work, as well as how the program can improve in the future. As a continuing project, we want to fully understand the short-term and long-term impacts of the project in order to best serve the Parkside community. Moving forward, we plan to increase the accessibility of the project by promoting the project all year round. By eventually expanding the program, we hope to include even more families and Santa Helpers–bringing home a Merry Christmas to those in need.
