By Michele Jurich

	How to help Want to Adopt-A-Family? Contact Carol Louisell at Catholic Charities of the East Bay, clouisell@cceb.org

Staff writer

A very successful food drive over the summer helped fuel a team of employees at AT&T Inc. in Oakland to talk about other ways they could give something to the community.

Some had suggested they serve in a community kitchen. But an invitation to participate in a company video contest gave them something more to work with. The contest carried a $2,000 prize, and although this AT&T team was not the winner, it also received $2,000.

“We decided to give back,” said Trina Peterson, an order writer for AT&T. The co-workers decided to split the $2,000 three ways: toward care boxes for veterans; school supplies for children; and the Adopt-a-Family program of Catholic Charities of the East Bay.

Through Adopt-a-Family, the group will have the opportunity to walk with a family through a particularly troublesome time of their life, helping as needed with furniture, bedding, clothing, housing and job opportunities.

This is the first year AT&T Oakland has participated in Adopt-a-Family. They had partnered with the United Way in the past, but the connection was not directly with a family.

“This time we wanted to do something personal,” Peterson said, “where people can get involved.”

Their motivation has been the disasters they have seen in recent years, Peterson said. “Nothing happened close to us,” she said, but the video of tornadoes, earthquakes, and other damage caused them to ask, Peterson said, “How can I help? What can I do?”

Case managers are identifying the families and assessing their needs. Catholic Charities usually match up a sponsor to one family. One of the families this year, however, may require more than one sponsor: There are 17 children.

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