Christmas will be here before you know it and we need Christmas angels to provide gifts for the children in Act Together’s programs.
How much does it cost to sponsor a child for Christmas?
Each child should receive 2-3 needed gifts such as shoes or a jacket and 2-3 wanted gifts such as toys or games. This generally costs $75-100 per child but if you are a bargain shopper, you might be able to do it for cheaper.
What should I buy?
We will provide you with a list of practical gift requests and information about the child. We can also give you age appropriate gift suggestions.
Do I have to shop?
No. If you would rather make a donation online, we will tell you about the child you sponsored.
Should I wrap the gifts?
No. Please do not wrap the gifts. We’ve found from previous experience that parents prefer to wrap the gifts. Most of these gifts will be given from “Santa” and will be left on the living room floor unwrapped. In the past when we allowed sponsors to wrap the gifts, we found that most parents were unwrapping them because they wanted to know what the gift was or wanted to wrap it themselves. Put yourself in their shoes. If you had to apply for Christmas sponsorship for your children, you’d want to know what the gifts were before giving them to your children.
What are the situations these children live in?
The children receiving Christmas sponsorship live in low-income families, often single parent households living on minimum wage. Other parents are temporarily out of work. Many of the children are foster children. Some live in group homes, others live in a shelter with their families.
Is it possible to meet the child/family?
Yes. The children will attend our Christmas party on Saturday, December 15th and you are welcome to volunteer at this party. Check our volunteer opportunities for more details. Please keep in mind that we give the parents/Santa “credit” for the gifts. We do not want the children to realize they were sponsored for Christmas so please do not say anything at the party. Let your giving be done in secret and give God the glory.
What about gifts for the parents?
There are a few reasons that we don’t include adults in our Christmas sponsorship program:
There are children on a waiting list. If you are able to give more, please consider adding another child or two to your list. Teenagers are particularly difficult to find sponsors for.
Providing gifts for the children is giving a great gift to the parents. We even allow the parents to “take credit” for the gifts the children receive. When the parents pick up the gifts for their children, we distract the children with a big Christmas party. Meanwhile our volunteer elves hide the bags of gifts into the back of the car. Mom and Dad give the gifts to the children on Christmas morning from themselves or from “Santa.” This is the greatest gift we can give the parents.
The parents are not in the child’s life. For some of the children receiving Christmas sponsorship, a parent may be in prison or uninvolved in their child’s life. Some of our children are foster kids and others live in group homes.
We greatly appreciate your willingness to help the parents but we ask that you consider sponsoring another child/teen or provide a financial donation to the ministry to support our year round efforts: to help parents find employment, to offer one on one youth mentoring, to provide incentives to the kids for making good grades in school (and thus breaking the cycle), to provide birthday gifts, enrichment (sports, ballet, gymnastics, boy scouts, etc.) scholarships and more.
What else can I do?
Pray for the child/children you are sponsoring. Get involved year round and consider financially donating to the ministry.
When do the gifts need to be turned in?
December 10th. This is early but we need time to bag up all the gifts and get everything ready for the pick up on December 15th.
Sponsor a Child this Christmas
Christmas will be here before you know it and we need Christmas angels to provide gifts for the children in Act Together’s programs.
How much does it cost to sponsor a child for Christmas?
Each child should receive 2-3 needed gifts such as shoes or a jacket and 2-3 wanted gifts such as toys or games. This generally costs $75-100 per child but if you are a bargain shopper, you might be able to do it for cheaper.
What should I buy?
We will provide you with a list of practical gift requests and information about the child. We can also give you age appropriate gift suggestions.
Do I have to shop?
No. If you would rather make a donation online, we will tell you about the child you sponsored.
Should I wrap the gifts?
No. Please do not wrap the gifts. We’ve found from previous experience that parents prefer to wrap the gifts. Most of these gifts will be given from “Santa” and will be left on the living room floor unwrapped. In the past when we allowed sponsors to wrap the gifts, we found that most parents were unwrapping them because they wanted to know what the gift was or wanted to wrap it themselves. Put yourself in their shoes. If you had to apply for Christmas sponsorship for your children, you’d want to know what the gifts were before giving them to your children.
What are the situations these children live in?
The children receiving Christmas sponsorship live in low-income families, often single parent households living on minimum wage. Other parents are temporarily out of work. Many of the children are foster children. Some live in group homes, others live in a shelter with their families.
Is it possible to meet the child/family?
Yes. The children will attend our Christmas party on Saturday, December 15th and you are welcome to volunteer at this party. Check our volunteer opportunities for more details. Please keep in mind that we give the parents/Santa “credit” for the gifts. We do not want the children to realize they were sponsored for Christmas so please do not say anything at the party. Let your giving be done in secret and give God the glory.
What about gifts for the parents?
There are a few reasons that we don’t include adults in our Christmas sponsorship program:
We greatly appreciate your willingness to help the parents but we ask that you consider sponsoring another child/teen or provide a financial donation to the ministry to support our year round efforts: to help parents find employment, to offer one on one youth mentoring, to provide incentives to the kids for making good grades in school (and thus breaking the cycle), to provide birthday gifts, enrichment (sports, ballet, gymnastics, boy scouts, etc.) scholarships and more.
What else can I do?
Pray for the child/children you are sponsoring. Get involved year round and consider financially donating to the ministry.
When do the gifts need to be turned in?
December 10th. This is early but we need time to bag up all the gifts and get everything ready for the pick up on December 15th.
Sign Up to Sponsor a Child