Anna's House Foundation Uses Major Donation To Make Holiday Season Bright

For kids in the foster care system, moving in with a new family can be overwhelming. Add in the stress of the holidays and the challenges extend to entire families. 

“Anna’s House Foundation is a Christian foster care agency located in central Oklahoma,” said Katherine Craig, executive director with the Anna’s House Foundation.  

Located in Edmond, the foundation was started in 2009 to recruit and train foster families for children in the foster care system.  

“We annually serve about 220 foster children through about 65 foster homes,” said Craig.  

Bridging the gap between the kids and their new homes by providing clothing, counseling and anything the families and children need.  

“Children come to Anna’s House Foundation, to the foster care system with nothing,” said Craig.  

The challenges of balancing the immediate needs of the children with the desires of Christmas becomes a real struggle for the families, and that’s where the Paycom employees have stepped in.  

“Every year we partner with Anna’s House at this time of year to provide gifts for the children supported by Anna’s House,” said Paycom chief information officer Brad Smith.  

Every November the company creates a giving tree with a list of desired items from the kids.  

“Our employees will then go out and purchase gifts and deliver them here to Anna’s House,” said Smith.  

“They are so sweet in just the way that they fill those lists to the very specific item that those kiddos wanted,” said Craig.  

Cheyenne Wild has been a foster parent for three years and says this program is a game changer for her and her two foster daughters.  

“I remember thinking, oh this is so nice, they’ll get a couple of extra gifts, you know that I may not have been able to get or them and the first I could not believe what they dropped off,” said Wild.  

In addition to the employees purchasing gifts on their own, the company also made a $75,000 donation. 

“This is really just to make sure that children supported by Anna’s House and the families have things to give their children at Christmas,” said Smith.  

“It gives the children in my home so much more than I would be able to give them on my own, which is great,” said Wild.  

The Anna’s House Foundation needs support throughout the year, visit their website for information on how to support, follow this link.