SYLMAR : Charity Finds Holiday Need Up This Year

Long rows of packing boxes brimming with red cellophane line the floors of the Fiesta Plaza swap meet in Pacoima, as telling a measure of economic hard times as any government index.

Filled with food and toys, the boxes will go out to about 1,200 families in the East Valley this holiday season, according to Marianne Haver Hill, executive director of MEND (Meet Each Need with Dignity), which has organized the giveaway since the charity organization’s 1971 founding.

More disturbing than the boxes, Hill said, is this year’s rise in the number of families deemed so needy that they require “adoption” by a group capable of providing food, clothing and household items.

MEND identified about 220 such needy families for its adoption program, and is working to match each with church, community and employee groups.

“We’re going along real well, except we have about 50 of these families that we need to match,” Hill said. “The number of adoptive families varies from year to year. Of course, this year has been tough economically on people. Last year, we had about 170 or so. This year, there were definitely more.”

Last year, MEND had more groups willing to adopt than families needing aid--the reverse of this year’s situation, she said.

Groups or individuals who adopt a family are asked to provide each family member with an item of new clothing, a toy for each child, and much-needed household items, Hill said. The cost of adopting depends on the size of the family and how good a shopper the adopter is, but ranges from $150 to $400, she said.

“It’s been a real mix,” Hill said of the groups that have stepped forward so far. “We’ve had small businesses, employee groups; we’ve had church groups, even families.”

The aid boxes for adopted families must be delivered by Wednesday, leaving little time to find 50 more donors, Hill said.

MEND provides clothing to about 10,000 families each month from its Pacoima office, 13460 Van Nuys Blvd.