Delivering Human Kindness since 1993

Each year, Holiday Express visits 100 organizations  from early November right up until  Christmas Eve, bringing its unique brand of music, food, presents, hope and joy and much more to those in need of the gift of human kindness.

Comprised of more than 2,500 volunteers, including 150 professional singers and musicians, Holiday Express visits adults and children in need, including the mentally and physically disabled, the isolated, individuals in addiction and recovery programs, the poor and the homeless, veterans, and children with serious illnesses.

For many of the organizations Holiday Express visits, traditional sources of funding are not sufficient to provide basic needs. We also provide a gift bag – a well-stocked canvas duffel bag of brand new, useful and practical items, including a warm blanket, toiletries, gloves, hat, and scarf. Each season, volunteers pack and distribute nearly 30,000 gift bags.

Our programs strive to affirm the human dignity of all individuals. The criteria is simple: Holiday Express delivers to the source of the greatest human hardship.

Who does Holiday Express serve?

  • Adult Special Needs Programs

These programs provide comprehensive mental health services that promote full participation in community life. Individuals and families living with depression, mental illness, substance abuse or disabilities that impact learning, receive counseling, support and many other services in a safe compassionate environment. These services provide hope for recovery and enables individuals with disabilities or special needs and their families to live, learn, work and play in their communities with equality, dignity and independence.

  • Schools for Children with Special Needs

The students at these schools have various classifications which include but are not limited to: hearing impaired, autistic, communication impaired, cognitively impaired, multiply disabled, other health impaired, specific learning disability, and traumatic brain injury. The schools provide a safe and nurturing educational environment dedicated to the vision that individuals with disabling conditions are entitled to a full and meaningful life.

  • Developmental Centers

New Jersey Developmental Centers are home to approximately 2,700 individuals. Residents have intensive needs related to their developmental disabilities and many also have co-occurring mental health, behavioral and/or medical needs. The average age is 51 and more than 80 percent of the residents have lived in a developmental center since childhood. Many residents are non-ambulatory and must use a wheelchair for mobility.

  • Medical and Educational Facilities

These facilities support a wide range of individuals with disabilities throughout all stages of life. A full continuum of care is offered for adults, children, adolescents and their families, as well as for those with various addictions. Services provided include medical and educational treatment for children and adults with medically complex developmental disabilities and associated clinical conditions. Residential and inpatient programs focus on all aspects of the resident’s development, including educational, emotional, medical, social, and spiritual needs.

  • Cerebral Palsy Sites

These programs provide education, therapeutic, social, residential and support services for people with cerebral palsy or other physical disabilities. They seek to maximize independence for individuals with developmental and multiple physical disabilities in the areas of communication, education, functional skills, social skills, vocational skills and employment.

  • Soup Kitchens

Feeding all who come hungry and in need is the main mission of our area’s soup kitchens, yet they do much more. Services have expanded to include outreach programs such as adult education, computer training, medical services, women and children centers, health care counseling, screening and referrals, social services, children’s activities, food pantries and arts and crafts.

  • Psychiatric Hospitals

These hospitals serve a designated New Jersey population. They provide quality comprehensive psychiatric, medical and rehabilitative services that encourage maximum patient independence and movement towards community reintegration within an environment that is safe and caring. These are adult inpatient facilities that offer a multidisciplinary team approach to development and implementation of care.

  • Children’s Hospitals

These hospitals serve infants, children and young adults affected by traumatic brain injury, spinal cord dysfunction and injury, premature birth, autism, developmental delays, and life-changing illnesses. They are dedicated exclusively to the diagnosis, care and treatment of children with complex medical and rehabilitative needs.

  • Recovery/Shelter Residency Programs

These programs provide a wide range of services for the poor in New Jersey, including food, shelter, substance abuse treatment, primary medical and dental care and a variety of transitional and permanent housing options. Additional supportive services include, parenting classes, play therapy, personal finance workshops, job training and placement.