Hope for The Holidays 2022

“Ritter helped my family with keeping healthy food in the house for my children.”
― Dee, a mom of four children

Thank you for giving Hope for the Holidays to people living in poverty!

Our Hope for the Holidays (HFTH) campaign brought seasonal cheer to our neighbors in need. Thanks to 650+ donors, we raised over $436,000 for our programs and services. We hope to meet our $500,00 goal with additional gifts still coming in throughout the new year.

This tremendous support from our donors funded three seasonal programs and related community events:

170 families picked up a November Meal Kit with ingredients for a turkey meal, sides, and dessert
Over 620 people, including 300 children, 69 seniors, and 35 people experiencing homelessness, received gift cards via our Family-to-Family Holiday Gift Card program. Families took photos with Santa and enjoyed cookies with hot chocolate, too!
We served over 100 warm holiday meals to clients experiencing homelessness and gave each guest a care package with a coat, hat, scarf, new backpack, sleeping bag, and hygiene kit, including underwear and toiletries.
Plus, funds raised also support our medical and behavioral health care, housing support and food pantry services.

View our event photo gallery below!

A big shout-out goes to our campaign sponsors and food partners: Marin County Sheriff’s Office, San Rafael Police, Good Earth Natural Foods, Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Extrafood.org, San Francisco-Marin Food Bank, The George H. Sandy Foundation, Colette’s Skincare, Ultragenyx, and Redwood Credit Union and our Board of Directors who made our gift match challenges possible.

We also want to say a huge thank you to the many individuals, corporate partners, groups, and places of worship who knitted hats, scarves, and socks and conducted coat and food drives.

And last but not least, a huge thank you to every staff member, Board member, and volunteer who helped bring this campaign to life at events, through sharing our communications, and showing kindness and care for our clients and patients.

Photo Gallery

Hope for the Holidays - Campaign Overview

It’s hard to believe that we have a hunger problem in Marin, the 8th most affluent county in the United States. Yet, we do. Nearly 20,000 people, more than 7% of our county’s population, struggle to put food on the table while keeping a roof over their heads. Hunger is often a precursor to homelessness.

Can you help us raise $500,000 to give Hope for the Holidays to those living in poverty?

The holiday season is meant to be a time of joy, but many families in Marin are worrying about how they are going to eat, feed their children, pay bills, and keep their homes. Inflation hit a record high of 9.1% this year; food, gas and housing are more expensive than ever, and the price of turkeys has soared. In fact, chronic homelessness has increased by 10.5% and family homelessness has increased by 35.2% in Marin County.

Help Families, Seniors, Veterans and Individuals Experiencing Homelessness.

Dee first heard about Ritter Center in 2015. After the birth of their third child, she and her husband were struggling to pay rent. They are one of 400+ families who now visit Ritter Center’s food pantry each week to pick up nutritious food.

Over 1,800 other households and individuals claim 22,000 bags of food from our pantry each year. And Ritter Center is a constant presence in Dee’s life, providing a myriad of services.

“They have given my kids school supplies and backpacks, as well as a community; they really care about the neighborhood. I often share the Back-to-School event and the food pantry with my mom friends!”

Many families in Marin have to decide whether to buy food to feed their families or spend their modest income on exorbitant rent to keep them housed.

Carmen, a mom of three, visits Ritter Center each week with her son, Noah, to collect their groceries. Carmen and her husband work hard to raise their fun-loving kids, yet despite their steady income, they have struggled – to stay housed, to feed their children, to survive.

Maria first came to Ritter Center early in the COVID-19 pandemic. Her husband works full-time, but it wasn’t enough for them to get by independently. She visits our pantry weekly to pick up groceries and takes part in all of our seasonal programs, keeping her family housed and well-fed.

Enrico works as a behavioural health counselor but he still needs support and visits our food pantry each week to support his family of eight. He also picks up food for his elderly neighbor who has mobility issues.

Luckily, Maria, Dee, Carmen, and Enrico don’t have to choose between rent or food.

“The seasonal programs are a great help, especially during the holidays. They help our kids experience a more complete Christmas,” says Maria.

Give our neighbors in need food, housing support & healthcare!

Your gift helps fund our 2022 seasonal holiday programs and provides vital support for our health and social services for the coming year:

Thanksgiving Meal Kits for more than 170 families
Seated Holiday Dinner for 100+ people experiencing homelessness
Gift cards for over 400 families and individuals to buy toys and items for their homes; and
many other services that lift spirits, prevent hunger, keep people housed, and give access to high-quality healthcare

Many families wonder if they will eat a holiday dinner or have gifts for their children. That’s where you come in.

DOUBLE YOUR IMPACT – $18K GIFT MATCH
THROUGH DEC 31, 2022

Your tax-deductible gift will be matched up to $18,000 by Redwood Credit Union and our Board of Directors when you donate by midnight on December 31, 2022!

Your generous gift will lift the spirits of hundreds of families like Dee & Carmen’s and give them Hope for the Holidays. Thank you!

Give $50

Give $100

Give $150

Give $250

Give $500

Give $1,500

Give $5,000

Give $10,000

Give Hope for the Holidays to our Neighbors in Need

This year, while the cost of supplies and essentials has increased, so has the need for our holiday programs and healthcare and housing support services, and it’s our mission to help.

“Ritter Center means hope to the community here.” – Dee

We couldn’t have said it any better. Thanks to compassionate people like you, Ritter Center provided the following support in 2021:

430 children, seniors, veterans, families, and individuals experiencing economic insecurity and homelessness with over $36,000 in holiday gift cards;
2,447 patients with 24,149 medical and behavioral visits;
99 clients with $556,000 in rental assistance;
153 children with backpacks, school supplies, and a gift card for clothing;
160 clients with holiday meal kits;
100 individuals experiencing homelessness with a hot, holiday meal, coats, scarves, hats, hygiene kits, and gift cards; and
So many other services that lift spirits, prevent hunger, keep people housed, and give access to high-quality healthcare.

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Matching Gift and Volunteer Grant information provided by

Thank you to the following partners for their Hope for the Holidays support!

*We are accepting and arranging in-kind donations and are seeking corporate support to help fund our programs. Please contact Christen Brunner at [email protected] for more details.

Learn More & Get Involved

Call (415) 457-8182 if you or someone you know needs help getting food and shelter this holiday season. Click to learn more about our holiday programs.

LEARN MORE

Can you volunteer this season? We need help in our Food Pantry preparing bags for over 400 families each week, as well as sorting clothes, and helping in our Client Services department.