An Angel Tree child receives her gifts at a party in Florida!
Each year, Prison Fellowship is overwhelmed by the generosity of the hundreds of thousands of Angel Tree volunteers who give their time to bring gifts and the Gospel to children of incarcerated parents all over the country. This year, approximately 375,000 prisoners’ children were reminded of their parents’ love and experienced Christ’s love – some for the very first time.
Prison Fellowship has received so many positive reports about Angel Tree parties and deliveries this season. Here are a few of our favorite stories, reminding us of the blessing that Angel Tree is to prisoners, their children, caregivers, and Angel Tree volunteers:
One participating church threw a huge Angel Tree party with door prizes, food, songs, crafts, and a Christmas message. A photographer snapped photos of the Angel Tree children having fun, and the children wrote thank-you notes to their incarcerated parents for their gifts. Then the church mailed the photos and cards to the prisoners.
Here’s what one incarcerated father wrote in response to the card and photo he received: “Being in prison away from my family has been really hard on me especially during the holiday season. Then comes along the Angel Tree ministry. … When the corrections officer handed me your envelope and I opened it and saw the pictures you all sent me, I was stunned. … After I wiped away the tears from my eyes, I just sat there looking at the pictures over and over and over again. This was the best Christmas present I had ever received …”
After Angel Tree volunteers delivered gifts to her home this Christmas, a caregiver wrote to us: “[The gifts] all said, ‘Merry Christmas, Love Dad.’ My kids’ favorite things at Christmas are what they think they got from their dad. This program is so amazing. A couple brought the presents right to my home. My daughter talks all the time about the stuff from her daddy and how she will cherish it forever. The kids feel like they have part of [their father] there … when they try something that ‘came from him.’ … It truly means so much to my kids. Those aren’t just Christmas presents. They are special because they are from Daddy. Thank you!”
A church group of formerly incarcerated men that meets once a week for Bible study wanted to give back to Angel Tree this year since the program had blessed many of their families in the past. They invited the Angel Tree children in their area to attend their church service and receive dinner and gifts. They served 104 people and gave Christmas gifts to 45 kids on behalf of their incarcerated parents.
Albert Gallegos, one of the men in the Bible study, says, “The men that at one time were incarcerated, now were given the opportunity to give back, and it had all of us in tears just seeing all the families and kids there, knowing that it was all God who put it in our hearts to do this. … Not only did it impact our lives, our pastors were so touched by this that [next] year we are and will be getting the whole congregation involved.”
Another participating organization called Hope for Kids, Inc. made a delivery to a single mother and her six children. Upon arrival at the home, the volunteers quickly realized the family was living in a state-provided hotel room.
One volunteer recalls, “You could have heard a pin drop as we shared about the God of the Bible who loved them enough to sacrifice His one and only Son, Jesus, for them. Tears streamed down the mother’s face as we shared that she could have her sins erased, eternal life in heaven with God one day, and forgiveness of all her past sins. The entire family prayed to receive Christ on the spot and the atmosphere was electric in that hotel room!”
While leaving the hotel, the volunteers realized that there were many other families in similar situations in the hotel, so they’ve set up a Bible club at the hotel for the kids and are now providing basic necessities and spiritual guidance for these families.
Angel Tree is making an eternal difference in the lives of families affected by crime and incarceration. Over the past Christmas season, nearly 8,000 churches and organizations volunteered to serve their local prisoners’ children. If you would like to help Angel Tree bless prisoners and their children in your area next Christmas, you can register your church or organization now at www.angeltree.org.
