A hero to homeless children
Published: February 15, 2007
When it comes to helping homeless children and their families, Jennifer Putnam takes the cake, and then some.
Since 2004, the talented Wellesley resident has not only baked elaborate cakes during the holiday season for Horizons for Homeless Children, she’s also enlisted the help of her friends and family to prepare and deliver complete holiday meals for the organization’s annual Celebration of Light events at their three Community Children’s Centers.
On Jan. 24, the Boston Celtics honored Putnam with their “Heroes Among Us” award. Horizons for Homeless Children is a charitable partner of the team, and during the game, when the Celtics played the Atlanta Hawks, they recognized Putnam’s important work.
According to Putnam, however, “The most important heroes here and the organization to pay attention to is Horizons. They’re the heroes. They’re the ones who dedicated themselves to an important cause.”
Founded in 1988, the independent, nonprofit organization serves homeless children and their families. Their mission struck a chord with Putnam, who was looking for a way to help the less fortunate.
Putnam had been baking special birthday cakes for her son and daughter every year. The cakes were so creative that other mothers were asking her to custom-make them for their families. She charged them for the cakes, but found that it wasn’t as gratifying as she thought it could be.
“I could be making cakes for children who really need them,” she thought, “children who don’t get elaborate parties or presents on a yearly basis, and maybe never had a celebration at all.”
She decided to donate the proceeds from her cakes to an organization that was worthy, and when she went online and found Horizons for Homeless Children, she knew she wanted to make cakes for their children. Since there was no way she could keep up with making birthday cakes for each child, Horizons asked her if she could do something for the children and their families at their annual Celebration of Light events.
Putnam has no problem finding people who want to help out. In addition to her family, she said that locally, the Fiske Elementary School community, where her children, Everett, 10, and Luke, 8, are students, and Roche Bros., which is a major participant, contribute generously every year.
Everybody who participates makes two or three home-cooked meals. All together, they provide food for close to 200 people. Putnam said that while the donors are preparing the food in the comfort of their own homes, they are mindful of the recipients who don’t have their own residences.
The holiday fare includes turkeys, stuffing, gravy, lasagnas, macaroni and cheese, salads and lots and lots of vegetable dishes. And, of course, there’s cake for dessert. This year Jennifer baked nine of them — three for each center. Her cakes were shaped into snowflakes designs and snow people.
In 2006, Putnam was also successful in enlisting the help of her colleagues at Digitas, where she is an associate creative director and vice president. Within her creative team, they designed a gift cardholder that had a snowflake pattern on it. The card carried a nondenominational message, and a total of 175 gift cards from Target, that the employees had purchased individually, were inserted into each holder. The cards were given to the parents so that they could personally choose the gifts for their children. That, according to Horizons’ chief development officer, Meryl Sheriden, gives the parents some dignity and control over their lives.
And that’s just the way Putnam likes it. After taking a couple of days off from work each year to prepare for the Celebration of Light, she and about 50 other family members and friends head off from Wellesley to Boston. Providing everything necessary for the celebration, including food, decorations and place settings, Putnam and her team arrive at each center. With all the food being precooked, presliced and prepackaged, they set up in a whirlwind, spending no more than 20 to 25 minutes at each location. Then, poof, Putnam, like a fairy godmother, and her team are gone.
In 2004, she started off with the help of approximately 20 people, and each year since then the number of volunteers has grown. While somebody might not be able to take on organizing such a big event on their own, they find it easy to contribute by making a dish. And it turns out that the volunteers are thankful for the opportunity to help, Putnam says, because contributing to such a good cause gives them much pleasure.
Helping others has always been a way of life for Putnam’s family. Her great-great-grandmother was Julia Ward Howe, an abolitionist, activist and author of the words to the “Battle Hymn of the Republic.” Her father has worked on AIDS projects overseas, and her mother is the former director of development at Wellesley Centers for Women.
The generous pattern is continuing into the next generation. Putnam’s husband, Dan O’Connor, as well as her children, help out with the Celebration of Light. In fact, Everett and her Girl Scout Troop 3197 conducted a toy drive for the event.
After 48 hours of preparation for the Dec. 20, 2006, feast, Putnam said she couldn’t bear the idea of cooking for her own family that night. When they sat down to their dinner at Bertucci’s, instead, they knew that at the same time families at Community Children’s Centers were enjoying the meals they had prepared.
Sheriden said that Putnam goes about her work very quietly. Calling her a genuine philanthropist, Sheriden said, “It comes from her heart. She doesn’t need recognition … She’s a fabulous role model.”
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