Project Giving is a local charity that focuses on providing financial and emotional help to Georgia families that are dealing with a chronic illness.
"When you have a chronic medical illness, they are the families who are most vulnerable, the most weak, and the most frail," said Toni Henson Slade, the Executive Director of Project Giving. "Who doesn't want to jump in the lives of those families?"
The Warner-Robins based organization helps these family with a range of expenses, depending upon the need of the family. They have helped families with such big expenses as a mortgage payment to even the smallest expenses like quarters for the vending machines at the hospitals.
During the holidays, they run a Christmas adoption. Project Giving asks local educators which families need help during the holidays. Toni Henson said the teachers really know which of their students are in need.
"When I taught in Title 1 schools, you know the children who would not be excited around Christmas as you would think children would normally be," said Henson Slade. "The first year I started teaching I would recognize that, and thought you know I can't do a whole lot, but I can buy them some shoes."
The families that were picked out by local teachers then fill out an application and a wish list.
Project Giving then pairs them up with other families, individuals or businesses that want to adopt them.
Those who want to adopt a family can pick how big or small a family that they want to adopt for Christmas, all on the charity's website.
One family that is getting help from Project Giving this year is the Floyds in Warner Robins.
Their lives changed forever when their 8-year-old son, Aden, collapsed after some blood vessels in his brain ruptured. Doctors determined that he had an Arteriovenous Malformation or AVM.
Aden was airlifted to a hospital and had an emergency surgery.
He subsequently has had three more brain surgeries, including one that was 27 hours long.
Right now Aden and his father spend the majority of their time in a children's hospital in Atlanta, where he is in rehab, trying to get back to where he was before the AVM rupture.
He is relearning how to walk and his vocal cords are stationary, so he can't speak louder than a whisper.
The Floyds said Project Giving is helping them out with some of their expenses.
"The money that we would have put toward the mortgage," said James Floyd, Aden's Dad. "[we're] putting it toward the medical bills, putting it toward now, this tim of year, for Christmas for the kids."
For more information on how you can adopt a family for Christmas or throughout the year, go to Project Giving's website.