Across America, 1.7 million children are filled with loneliness and shame as they are abandoned by a parent put in prison. It makes my heart hurt to know that many of these children will also follow the path to incarceration that was unfortunately modeled by their parents. You can make a difference in one of these children’s lives though by going by the front office and picking up the bottom half of an angel off of the Christmas tree. These angels will include the name of an unfortunate child, along with their gender, age, and what they might like for Christmas. Although a gift is listed on the angel tag, you are not required to purchase it, as the gift they receive is within your discretion. Considering the child’s circumstances, it would be quite courteous to include necessities such as underwear, socks, and/or clothes for the cold weather. If at all possible, I would encourage trying to give the child both their gift of choice and some other essentials, as your compassion would be greatly appreciated.
As stated in the Angel Tree’s Mission Statement, “this unique program gives you an opportunity to share Christ’s love by helping to meet the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of the families of prisoners.” Every Christmas, thousands of associations “help brighten the lives of countless children by purchasing, wrapping and delivering gifts on behalf of their incarcerated parent—not only delivering a message of love from parent to child, but also the true meaning of Christmas.” In recent years, the Angel Tree has evolved to help not only the families of prisoners, but families with other unfortunate situations as well.
Upon purchasing a gift for your little kid, all you have to do is bring it unwrapped (they’ll wrap and deliver it for you!) to Mrs. Curl or Mrs. Salai’s rooms (C104 and C106) with the angel tag taped to the front. Please have these gifts turned in by Thursday the 15th, or before. Thank you for your help, it is greatly appreciated!