Black Friday Shopping Marathon — for a Cause
Granting Holiday Wishes
Elaine Sinacore and her daughter Carole have an unusual holiday tradition: They shop for 24 hours straight on Black Friday (starting Thursday night), but don’t buy a single gift for family and friends. Instead, they buy holiday gifts for children who might otherwise not receive holiday gifts.
Elaine and Carole (pictured at right) have adopted a CV cottage for the holidays for the past 8 years. The boys provide a wish list, and Elaine and Carole make it their mission to find absolutely everything — at a great Black Friday price! The CV kids know that these generous gifts are coming from a family that cares about them, and that means a great deal.
“We take pride in knowing that we’re getting these kids exactly what they want,” says Elaine, who often travels out of state to find the lowest prices on popular items.
The shopping spree has grown to be more than just a family project. Elaine’s husband, Paul, enlisted his company, Scott Process Equipment Corporation, to help organize and fund these drives as well.
And when Elaine brought the idea of a holiday gift drive to her church, the Reformed Church of Cortlandtown, parishioners enthusiastically joined in. Many members of the church share Elaine’s passion for getting the kids something personal.
“This year we were able to expand the drive to transitioning out of homeless shelters, so that means getting small appliances too. The next step is to add kids from Children’s Village going out on their own,” said Elaine.
Having become Black Friday experts, Elaine and Carole have offered to use their tradition to help even more organizations looking to plan gift drives. Year after year, their support and generosity continues to grow!
