What happened to Winter Wishes? A's and Q's from the most recent host. December 23, 2024 9:01 PM Subscribe
And what should happen with Winter Wishes?
For those who don't know, Winter Wishes is a program by New York Cares where kids, teens, and elders write letters with their gift hopes during the holiday season. For 11 years, MetaFilter, as "MeFi Cares," gave to those in less fortunate circumstances. And not just monetarily. And eventually, we expanded our reach to other giving. Please see my MetaTalk post history for complete info on the last several years we participated, including photos, though I'll summarize below.
I'm writing this right now because we seem to have more engagement on MeTa given new, hopeful developments, and because... well, 'tis the season. Please pardon me for the length of this, but I want to be as detailed and informative and honest as possible.
I did not begin this program! I just organized it for the last 6 years of the program here. The last year we as a community did it was 2019. In 2020, with the pandemic and so many things going remote, things changed drastically in so many arenas. That year, New York Cares paused the gift-giving program and relied solely on corporate sponsors, and the same went for 2021.
For me, that coincided with a few things. Several of my family members, including my father and all of his siblings, including my godmother, died in 2019 and 2020. I had already noticed that participation had dropped over time, and other than the efforts of one supportive mod, the annual drive was not sidebarred or given attention by staff outside of the post on MetaTalk. There was much more attention toward fundraising for the site itself. I lost a lot of faith in MeFi during that time, as well, for reasons that aren't appropriate here.
A couple of members who looked to that annual occasion as a seasonal boost reached out in 2020, when things stopped, and I was just in no condition to reach back. I'm so sorry.
Before I ask questions about what should happen going forward, if anything, I'd like to highlight a few things.
1. 2016, despite the 2016-ish of it all, was so uplifting. Not only did the site provide gifts and notes for dozens of young people and elders, but we accomplished side quests, like giving menstrual products to a shelter for queer youth and providing gift cards for women in a domestic violence shelter.
2. The gift cards for women in DV situations and the donations of menstrual products came about because, in the wake of a person being elected as US president who had so denigrated women and LGBTQIA+ people, we focused on the word "dignity."
3. The previous year, we were blessed with gift wishes from kids in an after-school reading program. That meant books, and MeFites loooove books. I was able to transport those gifts to a generous member's apartment, where we had a gift-wrapping gathering. And there were gift cards left after that to buy some gifts for a preschool program in the Bronx, a program that had submitted their application just a bit too late to be included in the Winter Wishes program to begin with.
4. Several times, MetaFilter provided menstrual supplies to this shelter for queer teens, as well as easy-to-carry hygiene products, like sanitizing wipes and deodorant. The last donation, which included so much Purell, was right before the pandemic, and it was right before the shortage of those products.
5. Those who could contribute financially did. And in 2019, those who could not contribute that way sent cards -- either by snail mail or by email that we transcribed into physical cards -- which felt especially impactful when our gift recipients were elders, many of whom wrote the most beautiful letters of holiday joy and hope. Each card-writer received a scan of the specific wish letter, so it was highly personal. This enabled everyone who wanted to take part to do so.
6. I think that many of us felt like this was a real community bonding experience. Anyone could take part and know that every item, every word, came from this group. And even when the gifts grew larger -- in amount and in actual size -- and I could no longer bring them to a gift-wrapping party, the act of wrapping them and delivering them was legit the high point of my year. And I'm thankful that this community trusted me with those tasks.
So since it's winter again and since there are a lot of stressful conversations happening, I thought I'd add another! ;) No, I thought I'd raise it as a matter for future planning. None of the MetaFilter's funds ever went toward this effort. And, in my mind, nothing but good ever came from the thing, which started because one MetaFilter member wanted to give one kid one bike.
I'd really like to resurrect this. Would people be in favor? And if so, could we rely upon staff to give it some attention? We know that most MeFi users don't look at MetaTalk.
And if so, do you think we could look toward doing something twice yearly instead? One in November/December, as per tradition and as per the Winter Wishes program, and one in June/July, to focus more on the hygiene supplies for the youth shelter and maybe support for the domestic violence shelter residents we supported a bit in the past? I'm asking this because, while it was amazing to deliver so much at once, it's a little overwhelming to do so much all at the same time.
I would dearly love to organize all of this again, with the help of anyone willing. But do we still have the kind of community that would want to do this? Should this wait til MeFi is better established in this new form? And does the twice-yearly idea make sense to anyone else?
I hope this season brings all the best to you!
I did not begin this program! I just organized it for the last 6 years of the program here. The last year we as a community did it was 2019. In 2020, with the pandemic and so many things going remote, things changed drastically in so many arenas. That year, New York Cares paused the gift-giving program and relied solely on corporate sponsors, and the same went for 2021.
For me, that coincided with a few things. Several of my family members, including my father and all of his siblings, including my godmother, died in 2019 and 2020. I had already noticed that participation had dropped over time, and other than the efforts of one supportive mod, the annual drive was not sidebarred or given attention by staff outside of the post on MetaTalk. There was much more attention toward fundraising for the site itself. I lost a lot of faith in MeFi during that time, as well, for reasons that aren't appropriate here.
A couple of members who looked to that annual occasion as a seasonal boost reached out in 2020, when things stopped, and I was just in no condition to reach back. I'm so sorry.
Before I ask questions about what should happen going forward, if anything, I'd like to highlight a few things.
1. 2016, despite the 2016-ish of it all, was so uplifting. Not only did the site provide gifts and notes for dozens of young people and elders, but we accomplished side quests, like giving menstrual products to a shelter for queer youth and providing gift cards for women in a domestic violence shelter.
2. The gift cards for women in DV situations and the donations of menstrual products came about because, in the wake of a person being elected as US president who had so denigrated women and LGBTQIA+ people, we focused on the word "dignity."
3. The previous year, we were blessed with gift wishes from kids in an after-school reading program. That meant books, and MeFites loooove books. I was able to transport those gifts to a generous member's apartment, where we had a gift-wrapping gathering. And there were gift cards left after that to buy some gifts for a preschool program in the Bronx, a program that had submitted their application just a bit too late to be included in the Winter Wishes program to begin with.
4. Several times, MetaFilter provided menstrual supplies to this shelter for queer teens, as well as easy-to-carry hygiene products, like sanitizing wipes and deodorant. The last donation, which included so much Purell, was right before the pandemic, and it was right before the shortage of those products.
5. Those who could contribute financially did. And in 2019, those who could not contribute that way sent cards -- either by snail mail or by email that we transcribed into physical cards -- which felt especially impactful when our gift recipients were elders, many of whom wrote the most beautiful letters of holiday joy and hope. Each card-writer received a scan of the specific wish letter, so it was highly personal. This enabled everyone who wanted to take part to do so.
6. I think that many of us felt like this was a real community bonding experience. Anyone could take part and know that every item, every word, came from this group. And even when the gifts grew larger -- in amount and in actual size -- and I could no longer bring them to a gift-wrapping party, the act of wrapping them and delivering them was legit the high point of my year. And I'm thankful that this community trusted me with those tasks.
So since it's winter again and since there are a lot of stressful conversations happening, I thought I'd add another! ;) No, I thought I'd raise it as a matter for future planning. None of the MetaFilter's funds ever went toward this effort. And, in my mind, nothing but good ever came from the thing, which started because one MetaFilter member wanted to give one kid one bike.
I'd really like to resurrect this. Would people be in favor? And if so, could we rely upon staff to give it some attention? We know that most MeFi users don't look at MetaTalk.
And if so, do you think we could look toward doing something twice yearly instead? One in November/December, as per tradition and as per the Winter Wishes program, and one in June/July, to focus more on the hygiene supplies for the youth shelter and maybe support for the domestic violence shelter residents we supported a bit in the past? I'm asking this because, while it was amazing to deliver so much at once, it's a little overwhelming to do so much all at the same time.
I would dearly love to organize all of this again, with the help of anyone willing. But do we still have the kind of community that would want to do this? Should this wait til MeFi is better established in this new form? And does the twice-yearly idea make sense to anyone else?
I hope this season brings all the best to you!
Thank you, and pls sign me up. If we missed the Winter Wishes deadline, it would be great if there was something we could do now/in the next few weeks?
posted by Glinn at 8:01 AM on December 24 [2 favorites]
posted by Glinn at 8:01 AM on December 24 [2 favorites]
Yes Yes Yes! So glad to see this.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 8:48 AM on December 24 [1 favorite]
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 8:48 AM on December 24 [1 favorite]
I don't have the bandwidth to help organize, but I think we still have the kind of community that would want to do this--sign me up.
posted by box at 8:50 AM on December 24 [1 favorite]
posted by box at 8:50 AM on December 24 [1 favorite]
I'm so sorry for your losses. I'm a relatively new MeFite and hadn't heard about this initiative. I live in Brooklyn and would love to help out in its next iteration. I think twice-yearly is just fine!
posted by charcoals at 2:13 PM on December 24
posted by charcoals at 2:13 PM on December 24
I'm not nearby to help in person, but I certainly enjoyed participating monetarily and would love to do so again. I think twice a year is a great idea.
posted by Lyn Never at 4:36 PM on December 24
posted by Lyn Never at 4:36 PM on December 24
But I do think it would be a great program. Thank you for organizing.
posted by NotLost at 7:51 PM on December 24
posted by NotLost at 7:51 PM on December 24
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posted by sciencegeek at 2:19 AM on December 24 [2 favorites]