Debbie Blakely Shares Holiday Cheer Through Charitable Giving

January 9, 2020

The holidays are traditionally a time for giving, where communities come together to care for those less fortunate. For more than 15 years, partner Debbie Blakely has been going above and beyond when it comes to charitable giving. Debbie and her family are regulars at both the Salvation Army and City Union Mission around the holiday season.

Through Adopt-a-Family, a Salvation Army program that ensures children receive holiday gifts who may not otherwise receive them, Debbie and her family have guaranteed that at least three families take part in the holiday joy by fulfilling their gift wishes. Each year, Debbie requests a family with a single parent, to honor her own experience as a single mom.

“I thought it was important for the kids to buy/give with someone else in mind, someone that was in a similar family structure as ours,” Debbie said. “As my kids got older, I could send them out together to do the shopping on their own.”

In addition, Debbie and her family volunteer with Kansas City’s City Union Mission, where they donate holiday meals and help deliver gifts and groceries to local families in need.

“I believe it’s important to teach young people to look outside themselves, their own home and their community. My kids have learned a lot about the Kansas City area by volunteering in this fashion,” Debbie explained.

The charitable giving isn’t just for the holidays; the Blakely family has also volunteered through 4-H, making crafts with residents at nursing homes, and through service projects with Scouting BSA.

As a firm, White, Graham, Buckley & Carr participates in the “Skippy & Skivvies” drive that benefits Operation Breakthrough and St. Vincent’s Outreach. In addition, the firm has supported Project Graduation, LS Cares, Strike Out Cancer, Character that Counts, Speak UP, Make A Wish Foundation, The Wheelchair Foundation, Project H.O.P.E. and Girls on the Run throughout the years.