Partnering with CASA to bring holiday joy to a family in need

For this year’s annual Holiday Giving program, we decided to do things a little differently, and the result was truly special. Instead of purchasing gifts for a family, we encouraged donations towards our awesome bike build (read how that turned out here). But we didn't want to miss the chance to directly support a local area family in need either. So we partnered with CASA of Jackson County (Court Appointed Special Advocates) and asked them to give us a family to adopt — with the companies of Rogue Waste, Inc. happily footing the costs.

The family we were given to sponsor has eight kids, ranging in age from just one year old all the way up to twelve! Just image what that house is like on Christmas morning! We were able to make sure each child had plenty of wonderful gifts — including new shoes, cozy socks, multiple new outfits, snuggly pajamas, toys straight from their wish lists and so much more! It was like a real-life Santa's workshop!

But the magic of the holidays didn’t stop there. To help the entire family with everyday essentials, Team Rogue also provided gift cards to Food4Less, Fred Meyer and Kohl’s. We wanted to make sure they had everything they needed to make their holiday season bright.

Operation Holiday Giving was led again this year by Bekah Hix, Executive Assistant to the Management Team at Rogue Disposal & Recycling. This year, for the first time ever, she was met by the CASAs for the holiday adoption family. As she tells it, “I’ve been blessed to have the opportunity to organize this event for the past seven years, and this was the first time I got to shake hands with the volunteers that interact with the family we’re sponsoring. It was so special! The four of them posed in the photo with all the gifts we dropped off, serving as representatives of the family we got to bless this holiday season.”

Bekah also noted that she heard firsthand from many people at CASA that “This family was in great need. And everyone was so grateful that we were willing to sponsor the entire family as a whole. It sounds like this typically doesn’t happen for a family this size,” she says.

There’s always something special about being able to give back to the people in our area — and it feels even more special doing so during the Christmas season. Bekah sums it up best, saying, “I’m in awe of the generosity of our community, and I’m so grateful that Rogue is willing to play a part in bringing joy to families that otherwise might go without.”

From building bikes for more than 60 kids to adopting a large family in need, this holiday season has truly showcased the generosity of the Rogue team. Thank you all for helping make this holiday season so meaningful. Wishing you and your families the happiest new year!