For most families, December feels like sprinting a marathon. There’s decorating, shopping, cookie making, zoo lights, gift wrapping, school parties, visiting family, and of course — making sure that everyone wakes up to a picture-perfect Christmas morning.

We move so fast in December, you probably read through that opening paragraph without noticing the most important word in it: everyone. For thousands of children across Florida, waking up on Christmas morning with their brothers, sisters and parents is not a sure thing. They are standing on the front doorstep of foster care, and the most heartbreaking part of it all is that they don’t have to be.

You might be surprised to learn that most of the children in foster care were not abused. They have loving parents who were struggling with hard challenges and had nobody to call for help. Their parents had to choose between things like watching their children at home or leaving for work to afford the rent — impossible choices that no parent should have to make. Living without a support system is brutal, and with no respite, these parents bend until they break. That’s when child services gets involved. But there is some good news — in Florida, that’s when Better Together gets involved, too. We work in partnership with child services to catch families before they fall, and to prevent the need for foster care in the first place. Funded 100% with private donations and using our staff and volunteers, we offer parents a dignified, voluntary alternative. Our host families give children a safe place to live while we help parents regain stability through our work and mentoring programs. Ninety-eight percent of the time, the families never need to interact with child services again. They reunite and thrive.When I reflect on this holiday season, I am beyond grateful that a young mother named Brianna could spend every holiday with her two children. Things looked hopeless in August. The shelters were full, and she had nobody to call for help. Brianna might have let the state take custody of her children, but she grew up in foster care and didn’t want that for her babies. Child services called Better Together, and we stepped in. It was immediately clear that Brianna wanted to be the best mom she could possibly be. In just 50 days, she found two jobs, reliable child care, and an affordable home. The local church even surprised her with a car, giving her reliable transportation to keep her jobs.Brianna reunited with her kids on Oct. 12. Since then, she’s seen them dressed in Halloween costumes, eating until their tummies hurt on Thanksgiving and, next, waking up on Christmas.You can’t put a price tag on that gift. It’s more precious than anything. Even when parents aren’t ready for reunification, we offer the next best thing. While foster care cuts off contact between parents and children, our program does not. Parents are able to check in with their kids, call and visit frequently. This includes holidays. We’re currently hosting over a dozen families over the holidays. The host families are planning to have the children’s parents be a part of all the Christmas and Christmas Eve activities. Some children will even spend the holidays with their parents and go back to their hosts after. When our volunteers hosted children over Thanksgiving, parents were invited to spend the day together with their kids and the host families. Brianna and her children were invited back to spend Thanksgiving with their former host family, too, which they did. This is the real, lasting value in what we do. Once families like Brianna’s connect with our Better Together volunteers, they are never alone again. They have a community in their corner. We’ve provided this service for thousands of children across Florida, and this is our busiest time of year. Whether it’s offering time, talent or treasure, we all have something that can help keep children safe and at home with their families during the holidays. Maybe you are not even sure what you have to offer, but you just want to do something to help. We can help you figure out what that is. December is not about making sure everything is bought, wrapped or picture perfect. It’s about making sure that children in our community are not left behind. If we slowed down this December and put as much effort into people as parcels and packages, what could we do together? I invite you to find out with me.

Megan Rose is CEO of Better Together, a Naples-based nonprofit organization that helps parents and families. To help families in your community, get help or donate, visit BetterTogetherUS.org or call 239-470-2733.

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: You can help families stay together this Christmas