Did you know 85% of all boys who become juvenile offenders have a parent or sibling who is already in jail? It's a vicious cycle, and it can only be broken by love, God's love. That's why we're committed to Angel Tree, the only ministry in the nation which focuses on the plight of prisoner's children. We want to reach out to these innocent victims in our own neighborhood. We want to let them know that they are not forgotten. We want to remind them that their parent(s) in prison still loves them. Most of all, we want to let them know that God loves them.
How It Works
Angel Tree Christmas is a lot of people providing Christmas gifts to children with parents in prison. Eagle Outreach Ministries partners with churches, schools, and businesses in the Pacific Northwest area to purchase gifts (clothing and toys) for children and then delivers these gifts just before Christmas.
We also provide food gift cards to each home during Christmas. We also provide special needs to families, including warm coats, pots, pans, bedding, and bed. Another part of our ministry is to make sure that we have provided a little something for the caregiver to let them know that God loves them just as much as the children.
Schedule
- January: Start the planning for the Christmas season
- July September: Contact partnering organizations
- September December: Recruit short-term volunteers
- October: Start calling the Angel Tree Families
- Mid-November: Data entry and assembly of Christmas gift requests
- Late-November: Distribute the gift requests to the purchasers
- Friday evening before Christmas: Sort the gifts
- Saturday before Christmas: Deliver the gifts to the homes
Volunteer Opportunities
This unique ministry has opportunities for anyone to serve whether you have only 3 hours a year or 10 hours a week.
- Help recruit volunteers
- Work with youth group to sponsor an Angel Tree activity
- Be our resource at your church/school/business
- Caregift coordinator
- Setup / Teardown support
- Fellowship coordinator
- Prepare Christmas cards for childrens parents in prison
- Call the families to get gift requests from the children
- Call volunteers
- Data entry
- Assemble the gift requests (instructions for the purchaser buying the gift)
- Distribute gift requests to people who purchase the gifts
- Receive the gifts at your church, school, or business
- Sort gifts and prepare them for delivery
- Visit families and children to deliver the gifts
- Prepare mailings
- Administration support: graphics artist, editor/writer, prepare mailings, photographer, videographer, produce promotional materials
How many volunteers does it take to do Angel Tree Christmas?
- Telephoning families 15 to 25
- Telephoning volunteers 5 to 8
- Data Entry 12 to 20
- Assembly 6 to 8
- Distribution 5 to 25, depending on size of organization
- Receiving 2 10, depending on size of organization
- Sorting 120 to 130
- Delivery 150 to 200
- Organization focals 1 per organization
- Other Support 10 to 20
Financial Needs
- General Funds to buy crayons, Gospel booklets, Bibles, children Gospel videos, candy, teddy bears, and other appropriate items for the families
- Administration support to produce and mail materials to families and volunteers
- Communication support to the public (churches, schools, businesses, newspapers, etc)
Sponsorship Opportunities
All quantities and costs are rough estimates. The creativity of the sponsors may mean a much lower cost than expected. Please check with us for additional details.
- Bibles and Gospel Booklets
Each year we try to provide a New Testament to each of the approximately 150 families. Estimated investment is $200. We also provide age appropriate gospel booklets to the children (e.g. coloring or activity books). Estimated investment is under $1 per child.
- Crayons
People like to be creative. Children are no exception. Each Angel Tree child under the age of 11 receives a small gospel activity-coloring book, which teaches them about Jesus love for them. Of course, without any crayons, the pictures are a bit dull. This season about 300 kids will need a set of 24 Crayons. Retail cost is about a buck a set, but sometimes we have been able to connect with a business that is willing to provide them below retail cost.
- Refreshments
We need refreshments for about 140 people on sort night and about 200 people on delivery day. They need fuel so their bodies can do the work. This can be a fun time for people who have the joy of hosting to help out others who are serving elsewhere.
- Caregiver Gifts
For many years we have encouraged people to provide a small gift for the caregiver. These have varied from small boxes of candy to small devotional books to sacks of various lotions, shampoos, etc. These have been a great source of encouragement to caregivers letting them know that we, and Jesus, love them also. Sponsorship of this activity could help us provide encouragement to the caregivers.
- Food Gift Certificates
Many of the inner city families we minister to have difficulty keeping food on the table. By sponsoring some of these gifts you can help us show our love for them by helping them eat.
- Garbage Sacks
Garbage sacks? Yep! The gifts are distributed in garbage sacks to the kids. Need about 500 of them this season.
- Cameras
We need about 45 cameras that the delivery teams can use to take pictures of the families and kids when they are delivering the gifts.
- M&M Tubes
Some elementary Sunday school children collect money to fund part of the expenses such as paying for the developing of pictures taken during delivery and sending them to the families with a Christmas card. So what are the M&M tubes for? Something for the children to stuff their quarters in after, of course, they need a little energy! We need tubes for approximately 1,000 children. Estimated investment is under $.75 a child.
- CDs, Videos and DVDs
There are opportunities to provide age appropriate magazines, videos/DVDs, or CDs to the children. Educational cartoons such as Veggie tales which teach positive character qualities are preferred.
- Camp Scholarships
Many of the families have troubles putting food on their kitchen table, much less trying to get a child to camp to hear about Jesus and a new hope. Typically it takes about $400 to get a kid to a week of summer Christian camp.
Our Partners
In addition to our partners listed below, many individuals from churches, businesses, and schools provide much needed assistance. We would not be here without your support.
- Beit Tikvah Messianic Congregation, New Castle
- Bellevue Christian School, Clyde Hill
- Bethany Bible Church, Kenmore
- Calvary Fellowship, Mountlake Terrace
- Canyon Hills Community Church, Bothell
- Central Christian Church, Snohomish
- Comprehensive Payment Recovery Services, Bellevue
- Eastlake Community Church, Redmond
- Eastside Christian School, Bellevue
- Edgewood Baptist Church, Edmonds
- Faith Baptist Church, Kent
- First Baptist Church of Kirkland, Kirkland
- Grace Community Church, Bellevue
- Heritage Christian School, Bothell
- House Values, Bellevue
- Lake Retreat Camp and Conference Center, Ravensdale
- Monroe Community Chapel, Monroe
- Northwest University, Kirkland
- Outreach Christian Center, Seattle
- Overlake Christian Church, Redmond
- Prisoners for Christ, Woodinville
- Redmond United Methodist Church, Redmond
- Snohomish Christian School, Mountlake Terrace
- Water of Life Family Church, Oakville