> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# The time to give is now
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/the-time-to-give-is-now/
- Published: 2005-12-12T16:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T08:17:16.000Z
- Author: Guest Author
- Tags: Community, Venice, #archive-import

*By Daily Press staff*

Time is ticking away for giving this Christmas The deadline for giving is nearing for the Adopt-A-Family program, co-sponsored every Christmas by St. Monica Catholic Community and St. Joseph Center in Venice. Donations must be received by Wednesday, Dec. 14, so they can be distributed to needy families by Christmas.

To select a family for your donation, go to the St. Monica Duval Center on any day of the week from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Under the 12-year-old program, St. Monica parishioners give to specific but unidentified low-income families — from one person to as many as 10 — who live on the greater westside and are struggling financially. Donors select their families from 300 profiles put together by St. Joseph staff. The profiles tell who’s in the family, including the ages of any children, and what the family would most like to receive. The profiles don’t name the families or give their address.

Each donation is split between food and gifts. Depending on the size of the family, the amount of the donation runs from $45 to over $400.

Donor families can write a check that St. Monica will convert into cash certificates that recipient families can redeem for food and gifts at various stores, or they can give a check for food and shop for the gifts themselves.

“We let people do what they want — as long as they get here by the 14th,” said Ms. Alejandro, who works with a volunteer crew of eight to help match families and transport donations to St. Joseph.

St. Monica parishioner Suzanne Verge and her family adopted a family of nine, including seven children ranging in age from 18 months to 16\. To help in the gift buying, Verge enlists her friends and neighbors and an aunt, each of who buys for a child they select. The mother of two children, 9 and 14, Verge said, “The more people you can bring in, the better.”

Alejandro said she’s confident she’ll match St. Monica donors with all 300 families.

“We always hit our target,” she said. “In years past, we’ve had 310 to 325 donors.”

Cash contributions should total about $27,000, and the value of gifts should push the total value of donations to $50,000.

For any questions, call Alejandro, who manages the program, at (310) 458-6041.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on December 12, 2005.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/121205.pdf?ref=smdp.com)