About Us

Our mission is to assist underprivileged youth in the community with the resources and support needed to enjoy everyday life and to provide and promote opportunities from which each child may benefit. 

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Lodi Adopt-A-Child (LAAC) is an all-volunteer organization.  Currently no one receives a salary or a stipend for his or her efforts.  Each dollar received goes toward providing services and help to kids. 

 

The Board of Directors has taken the stance that we are in existence for one reason and one reason only: the children.  Not all children are born into equal financial status and often miss an opportunity to grow into productive citizens of the community.  The clients we serve are people that need a hand up and a helping hand, not a hand out. 

 

LAAC started in the mid-eighties with a street cop with a big heart, Dennis Lewis.  Dennis saw families with children that were not going to have much of a Christmas.  He twisted arms in the squad room and came up with money to buy presents and food for nine kids and their family.  Much of the early work and sponsorship was from the Lodi Police Officers Association.

 

As the list of children grew, the citizens of Lodi were asked to “adopt a child for Christmas”; thus, our name, Lodi Adopt-A-Child.  In 1989, LAAC incorporated as a non-profit. Over the years, the number of children given Christmas gifts has ranged from 650 to over 1100.  LAAC provides needed clothing and toy wishes to underprivileged children in the Lodi area between the ages of 0-13.At our Christmas party,the children and their families get their pictures taken with Santa,then proceed to receive a goody bag and the gifts purchased for them by the the generous people of Lodi.Cash donations received are used to purchase gifts for those children not adopted and also to supplement the gifts purchased for adopted children if they are found lacking.

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We have recently expanded our outreach to include sponsorships of local sports teams and also individual child sponsorships through our Play Lodi program in partnership with Lodi Parks and Rec and Community Partnership for Families San Joaquin.Through the Play Lodi program,eligible children can have their entry fees covered for activities ranging from sports and arts and crafts to computer coding and guitar lessons.

  

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If you would like to make a cash donation to assist us in our programs,our mailing address is Lodi Adopt-A-Child,PO Box 2479 Lodi,CA 95240.