Photos with Santa raises $1,000 for the Houseless in Hood River
Jennifer Josephson and Cara McNulty present the MCCAC team with a big check at the Hood River Shelter Site. Pictured left to right: Sara Kellems, Rob Mendoza, Kelli Horvath, Jennifer Josephson, Kenny LaPoint, and Cara McNulty. Photo Credit: Cole Goodwin
By Cole Goodwin
Hood River, OR - Mid-Columbia Community Action Council (MCCAC) received $1,000 from a successful community fundraiser to support the houseless on December 9th, 2022. The “Photos with Santa” event was organized by Jennifer Josephson, a real estate agent with Windermere, and Cara McNulty, of Kiddie City Child Care Facility. The two have been running the event for the past two years.
The funds raised from the event will be used to provide street outreach and purchase supplies and necessities for MCCAC clients, such as gas cards for those who rely on their cars for transportation, shelter and warmth. Any leftover funds will be used to provide holiday gifts for clients.
"I'm a single mom and I've used a lot of resources in the community in the past," said Josephson. "I wanted to give back and do something for my community. I love Christmas, so the idea of a Santa event came to mind."
Josephson said her family was one of her biggest supporters for doing the event. “Then also my brokerage who always supports me 110% like family,” said Joseph. Pictured left to right: Jennifer Josephson, Josephson’s mom Barbara Frasier, Santa, Josephson’s son Legend, age 4, Josephson’s daughter Presslie, age 11, and Josephson’s Dad Lloyd Frasier.
The event featured cookies, cocoa, and photos with Santa, and was held at a shared space between Windermere and Lucy's Informal Flowers on Oak Street. Attendees were charged $20 per family and had the option to purchase additional raffle tickets for $5 each. The raffle featured 6 baskets, valued at over $600 each full of gifts from 28 sponsors from around Hood River, and had five big winners.
"We had an abundance of raffle items and we're so grateful for the support from the community," said Josephson. "We raised over a thousand dollars, which is incredible. It's all about bringing the community together and keeping that small town feel."
Josephson said that this year’s event was special to her because she got to share it with her daughter.
Jenniffer, Pesslie, and Legend Joseph at the event.
“My daughter is 11 and I was super proud of her this year because she asked me on her own if she could volunteer for this event and she did. She handed out raffle tickets and helped with whatever I needed and she was super stoked to do it.” said Joesphson.
MCCAC is a non-profit organization that provides assistance to low-income families and individuals in the Mid-Columbia region of Oregon. The funds raised from this community fundraiser will go a long way in helping MCCAC clients during the holiday season and beyond.
The MCCAC team offered big thanks to Josephson and McNulty for their generous donation of time, effort, and money.
“I think it's really powerful that these two awesome women and community leaders in our region decided to pull together this event to benefit houseless folks because disproportionately houseless families with children are headed by single mothers. It’s really powerful,” said Kelli Horvath, Director of the Office of Housing Stabilization at MCCAC.
Josephson and McNulty said they were looking forward to doing the event again next year, following the 2023 community tree lighting event in Hood River.
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