A chance encounter at Tusk & Cup between Wilton resident Caroline Unger and State Rep. Savet Constantine recently sparked the revival of a holiday tradition to bring holiday cheer to Wilton’s neediest children.
Their brief exchange included a conversation about opportunities for community groups to support local families in need — and specifically the idea of reviving the Social Services Department‘s holiday gift program in which donors “adopt” a child for purposes of fulfilling their holiday wishes.
After galvanizing two community groups — the Working Moms of Wilton (WMOW) Facebook group, led by Vivian Lee-Shiue, and the Wilton Service Unit of Girl Scouts of Connecticut, where Unger serves as co-manager — a total of 62 children and individuals with disabilities will receive special holiday gifts this year.
Social Services Director Stephanie Rowe is delighted by the outpouring.
“It’s so great that there’s so many people that reach out and just want to do good,” she said. “It’s been overwhelming, but it’s just so great. The holidays is such a great time to be in the Social Services Department. We do get an influx in clients, but we also get an influx in giving.”
For years, the Social Services Department ran a holiday wish-list program, but during the COVID-19 pandemic, it was limited to gift cards, which were more easily sourced and distributed than other gifts. At that time, Lee-Shiue saw the opportunity for Wilton’s working moms to jump in and help meet needs. For the last few years, she has coordinated a gift-giving effort that anonymously matched the WMOW group members with those in need.
This year, Shiue and Unger worked with Rowe to come up with a plan that would provide specific gifts for the 62 Wilton children and individuals with disabilities who are supported by the department.
Shiue says the gift-giving initiative is a valuable lesson in empathy, calling it “a hands-on experience in giving and a way to understand that not everyone’s circumstances are the same as their own” — even within a town like Wilton.
“It’s hard to keep our kids grounded in a place like Wilton,” Shiue said. “By giving them the opportunity to adopt a child’s wish list, we hope to expose them, for a brief moment, to the reality of how lucky they are. The challenge as parents is helping them carry this thought throughout the year, not just at the holidays.”
Unger also saw the effort as an important life lesson for all involved.
“Find[ing] ways to help others is such an incredibly important lesson at every age, and I’m very glad to have been a part of it,” she said.
“Seeing how quickly the Girl Scout community and the Working Moms of Wilton came together to support fellow Wilton families and make their holidays special has been incredible,” Unger said. “It’s a great reminder of what our community can accomplish when we come together.”
