My Story: Toi

FINDING A WAY

At first, when Toi learned her children would receive gifts in their dad’s name through Angel Tree^® Christmas, she didn’t know what to expect. She had moved to Dallas to be closer to family and a good friend. Everything seemed unfamiliar and different. Having her children receive gifts that first year brought joy to her family during a difficult season.

“It was a lot of chaos at that time when I moved here,” she says. “Rent prices took off; they were sky high. I had started school.”

Toi took her children to church to pick up their toys at an Angel Tree Christmas party.

“They absolutely loved it,” she recalls.

HELP AT THE RIGHT TIME

Toi had been working in a doctor’s office but needed to take many days off to care for her children. It seemed that when one was feeling better, another child became sick. She left that job after she became sick herself. She looked for employment but was not finding work. The worst part of this discouraging period for Toi was learning her grandmother had passed away.

She decided to begin attending nursing school. Having her nursing license would open up more work opportunities for her. But it was difficult for Toi to keep up financially. She was determined to graduate and stayed with a family from her cousin’s church, then in a shelter until her cousin and his wife were able to purchase a home, into which they welcomed Toi and her children.

Through it all, from financial hardship to the search for affordable housing, Toi expressed her gratitude for the role Angel Tree played in supporting her family.

“[Angel Tree] meant so much to me, because I teach my kids to be happy with whatever you get; but when somebody goes above and beyond to do a little more, you really need to appreciate it,” she says.

“When it comes to Angel Tree, I take that very personally, because Angel Tree was one of those things we could count on to do what they said they were going to do.”

GROWING AND LEARNING

In addition to receiving Christmas gifts, Toi’s twin daughters attended Angel Tree summer camps for many years. All of her children have also experienced enriching programs from Angel Tree partners that encouraged them to express their creativity and learn new skills and talents.

“The kids learned how to decorate real sneakers,” she says. “[There was] a braiding class where the kids actually got mannequin heads and hair products to learn how to braid.”

Angel Tree also invited Toi’s children to tutoring services that significantly improved her son’s math skills.

“[The tutoring organization] put on a summer camp last summer,” she says. “Because of them, by the time they finished, my son who was going into the second grade at the time could read at about the third-grade level and do math at the third- and fourth-grade levels.”

Toi’s younger daughter, who had been struggling with reading, also benefited. She completed the program reading independently and solving simple math problems.

“The BITS Tutorial—bringing my youngest one up to speed and then propelling the one that I know is already so very bright, beyond where he's supposed to be—was amazing,” Toi says.

The children also enjoyed other events, attending a Dallas Cowboys sports camp and taking part in an Angel Tree STEM camp. At the STEM event, interactive stations allowed participants to learn about robotics, make perfumes, and create their own hand soap.