Seton Center’s Helping Hands Holidays Brings Hope to Local Families

Seton Center’s Helping Hands Holidays program helps struggling families celebrate the holidays with a little less worry.

The holiday season is often filled with family gatherings, shared meals, gifts, and traditions. But for families struggling to meet their basic needs, the added expenses of Thanksgiving and Christmas can make what should be a joyful season a stressful one.

Seton Center’s Helping Hands Holidays program has been working to ease that burden for over 20 years, by helping local families celebrate the holidays with dignity, joy, and a little less worry.

Each year, Seton Center assists approximately 150 eligible families through its holiday program. The support is designed not only to meet practical needs, but also to give families the opportunity to celebrate in ways that are meaningful to them.

For Thanksgiving, participating families can decide if they’d like to receive a cooked turkey dinner or receive a turkey with the sides to make in their own home, helping put a warm holiday meal on the table.

At Christmas, Seton Center will provide grocery gift cards, allowing families to select foods that fit their own holiday traditions and needs. Families with children may also receive toys for younger children and gift cards for teenagers.

The Helping Hands program reflects an important part of Seton Center’s mission: treating every neighbor with dignity and respect while providing meaningful assistance to individuals and families experiencing financial hardship.

The program also demonstrates what can happen when a community comes together.

The amount of assistance Seton Center is able to provide depends on donations from individuals, businesses, organizations, and other community supporters. Every contribution—large or small—helps make it possible for another family to experience the comfort of a Thanksgiving meal, the excitement of Christmas morning, and the reassurance that their community cares.

For families seeking assistance, eligibility requirements apply. Applicants must live within Seton Center’s designated service area and provide documentation, including identification, proof of income or unemployment, proof of residency and, when applicable, proof of custody or guardianship for children in the household.

Helping Hands Holidays is about more than food or presents. It is about neighbors helping neighbors and making sure families facing difficult circumstances know they are not alone during the holiday season.

As Thanksgiving and Christmas approach, Seton Center invites the community to help make the season brighter for local families.

Give hope. Share joy. Lend a Helping Hand.

For information about Seton Center’s Helping Hands Holidays, eligibility, registration, or ways to support the program, visit Seton Center’s Helping Hands page or call 301-447-6102 ext. 11

Seton Center is located at 226 East Lincoln Avenue, Emmitsburg, Maryland 21727, and is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and sponsored work of the Daughters of Charity.