A record year for Gabi’s adopt-a-family program

Gabi’s Olympic Cards and Comics Adopt-a-Family Program

We have never, ever had this much need at this time. But we also have never ever had this much outpouring of love and resources.”

Gabrielle Trautmann

For years, it’s been a holiday tradition for the folks at Gabi’s Olympic Cards and Comics to gather gifts to give to families in need. But they’ve never seen as much need, and as much giving, as they have this year.

“This one is astronomically bigger,” said the store’s owner Gabrielle Trautmann of the year’s donations.

The store, located at 4230 Pacific Ave SE in Lacey, runs an adopt-a-family program — a program where families in need provide their Christmas lists, and donors either buy or donate the items on the list to be given to the family. This year, 272 families were helped as of Christmas Eve.

The tradition started around a decade ago when Trautmann and her husband decided they would buy gifts for people in need rather than each other. When they asked around if anyone needed help buying gifts that year, they started amassing a list of folks who could use some help. That jump-started the adopt-a-family program run out of the shop.

Trautmann said she finds the families (and some individuals) through the network they’ve created at the store. The network is large, amassed from years of doing the work. Some people are referred to her through local charities, programs and social workers. Last year, Trautmann said, they helped somewhere in the ballpark of 150 to 170 families. It was a lot of work to coordinate, and so this year they decided to cap the number at 100 families. But when they hit 100 families in only two days, they decided to let some more folks sign up. Then they hit 200 families. And then they found 60 more. And finally, on Christmas Eve, they had helped 272.

“We have never, ever had this much need at this time. But we also have never ever had this much outpouring of love and resources,” said Trautmann.

Some folks who usually donate items have found themselves on hard times this year, and signed up for help from the adopt-a-family program. There are others who used to receive donations and are now giving them.

Families provide a list of three things that they need and three things that they want. This year, for the first time, they signed up exclusively on Facebook, under the page Gabi’s Kids. Plenty of people will choose to “adopt” an entire family — and some take several families — and donate all the items on a list. Others will donate cash to purchase items, or drop off individual items.

It’s an exhausting and sometimes overwhelming process, said Trautmann — especially this year. When COVID-19 lockdowns first started, Trautmann said she was confident the store would pull through. When the lockdown was extended, community members started to chip in to make sure her doors could open again and that her employees were taken care of.

“If I had to say what’s my one emotion, it would be pride. It’d be pride in our community. Because they’re just … amazing,” Trautmann said.