Unicornucopia originally began as an effort to “Adopt a Christmas Kid” as many of us do for the Christmas season. What started as a Go Fund Me account with a goal of $1,000 quickly turned into an overwhelming deluge of interest from individuals and businesses in northeast Pennsylvania. To make a long story short: the response was ASTOUNDING.
The message was clear- people wanted to help, they just didn’t know how. Beyond the overwhelming monetary donations, people fulfilled Christmas lists of individual kids, purchased bulk items to be distributed to each child, and recruited local businesses to help. People kept coming back and asking “What else do you need?” until the answer was “More kids to sponsor.”
Unicornucopia continued to pair with local group homes to support their kids year-round. We provide birthday gifts for each child, which include an outfit, socks, underwear, hygiene products, and personalized gifts chosen from their wish lists. Additionally, we provide little 'extras' as resources allow. For example this year we completed Easter baskets for 61 of our kids, and have provided pizza parties to the houses throughout the year.
Unicornucopia is 100% donation driven, and all funds and products donated are used directly to benefit the children we work with. There is no payroll. There are no administrative fees. There are no employees- just a sea of volunteers and one very frazzled HUIC (head unicorn in charge).
Who We Help
Unicornucopia works exclusively with children living in residential facilities, also known as group homes. Group homes are housing facilities for children in out-of-home placement or foster care. They typically house 7 to 12 children ages 8 to 21, depending on mental capacity. These placements may be transitional while awaiting an appropriate in-home placement, but sadly they also house children who will stay until they have aged out of the foster care system. These residential facilities provide 24-hour supervision by paid staff members and generally include resources such as life skills classes. What these facilities often lack, however, are some of the comforts one would expect to find in a family setting.
Pennsylvania has multiple programs that work to assist children in need with presents for Christmas, but many may be surprised to learn that there are very few resources available for other significant moments in the year- namely, a child’s birthday. Unicornucopia identified the need for these services while initiating the Christmas program. The celebration of birthdays and other holidays were so rare, in fact, that the children were not sure what items to request for gifts since they’d never received them before.
A typical Unicornucopia Christmas or birthday gift includes a complete outfit chosen specifically based on the child’s tastes, two to three “fun” items selected off a child’s wish list, and a care package of hygiene products, socks, and underwear.
How You Can Help
Unicornucopia is supported entirely by donations. There is no payroll, and monetary donations are not used to cover administrative costs. 100% of donations directly benefit our kids!
There are several ways to help listed below, and please reach out to us to help in another way.