What are Some Good Ideas for Christmas Charity?

Angels with Faith Ministries in Winder, Georgia has a Christmas Angels program where you can adopt a family in need for Christmas or donate toys new or lightly used,warm clothes, shoes, coats, baby needs, gift cards, food for holiday baskets, etc., or to help provide Christmas to a child or children in need. All donations are tax deductible. It's a 501c3 non-profit IRS approved charity.

Every year, they help to provide Christmas to hundreds of Georgia children in true need through tax deductible donations to the Christmas Angels Program which begins in November and runs through December, when gifts are distributed to all families who haven't been adopted or sponsored. People can choose to adopt a family for Christmas and meet and work with them directly, or adopt or sponsor a family or child through them. Either way it is tax deductible. It's a true blessing to all involved.

Their goal is to make sure that no child in Georgia will ever go without something under the tree to look forward to on Christmas morning. They receive no funding at all and rely strictly on donations to make each each year a success. They have families in need from DFCS, schools, churches, the military, Toys for Tots, Salvation Army and Empty Stocking, as well as from caring neighbors, friends, family members and some families come to us themselves.

To receive help, a family must live in Georgia, have a real financial need for Christmas assistance and not be receiving Christmas help from anywhere else and be willing and able to pickup their children's gifts on the assigned date.

I agree there are all kinds of ways you can give to those less fortunate over the holidays including making a donation to a child or children in an impoverished country, a gesture that can really make a difference in a child's life. You can visit the Christian Children's Fund of Canada for more information about how to make a Christmas donation.

When you said, "some families have been known to select a suitable Christmas charity and donate the money which would have ordinarily gone towards personal presents" I was thinking of what an incredible gift that could be for someone living in an impoverished country, who could really use the support of others.

The Christians Children Fund of Canada has a gift catalog for those wanting to give a gift at Christmas to someone less fortunate. You can give the gift of vegetable seeds, mosquito nets, or even a micro loan to help a family set up a small business and gain financial independence.

SurfNturf-Wow, what at nice story. I know that charity donations for Christmas are at its highest levels because people are in the holiday spirit. I know at my children’s school I easily spend about $200 in toys for the school toy drive and many of those toys are on sale.

One year I advocated that the school offer charity Christmas donations of teddy bears to a local children’s hospital, but instead the school decided to donate crayons and coloring books along with books and movies for the kids to enjoy. These are great charity gifts for Christmas.

We also did a book collection for St. Jude’s Hospital which is also a wonderful organization. There are so many wonderful charity Christmas gifts for Christmas that there no shortages of charity Christmas presents to give.

I also think it is important to remember the elderly during this time. Older people living in nursing homes sometimes do not have much to look forward to as they may not get many visitors.

I know a local school sends the school choir out to many nursing homes so that the residents could have something nice during the holidays. I know when I was a kid, I did this very thing and I still remember it.

Suntan12-I actually did both and it was a wonderful experience. With the Wish Granting program, after you finish a brief orientation, the office will assign you a child and you and another volunteer will be paired up to go visit the family and find out what the child wants.

You then provide this information to the Make a Wish Foundation and then they follow up with you in order to schedule the date to grant the wish.

I remember one little boy that was three years old that wanted a shopping spree with Toys R Us. So when the day of the wish granting arrived, we picked up the family with a limo and drove them to the store.

The store manager met the child and even helped us get toys for him. It was like $800 in toys. After that we took the family to lunch and drove them home. It is such a heartwarming experience to make a little boy like that happy and for one moment not have to worry about hospitals or medicine.

Icecream17-I know that Unicef sells charity Christmas cards. The Make a Wish Foundation also sells Christmas charity cards made by the children that are signed up for the program. These Christmas cards for charity are so beautiful and vibrant.

I know that the Make a Wish Foundation grants wishes to children that are very ill. In many cases the children were diagnosed with a terminal illness.

You can easily sign up for this charity at Christmas time. They use volunteers to become Wish Granters and general volunteers for fund raising events throughout the year.

Anon56770- That is a good tip. Charity donations for Christmas usually include a variety of toys for children of all ages.

Most charity gifts for Christmas ask for unwrapped toys because this is the season that impacts children the most. The Toys for Tots multiple drop off locations make it easier for people to give during the holiday season.

Many of these collection boxes are found in supermarkets, big box retailers and toy stores. I think that the post office also has a holiday drive.

I know that Miami Children’s Hospital loves to have volunteers and gifts during the Christmas holiday to cheer the children up. My children's school sings carols to the children there.

Your comment about participation in a Christmas charity program reminded me about this - you'll have to research it since web addresses are blocked from posts, but it's called "Redefine Christmas".

Very similar - an organized attempt to encourage people to ask for people to give a charitable gift in a loved one's name and ask that others do the same.