Christmas Giving Program
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SJN Christmas Giving Program
Each fall, we work with local agencies and SVdP to identify families in need, including those with children, special needs, or financial hardship. Parishioners can adopt a family, purchasing gifts for each member (gifts usually around $60). Families are provided to adopters in early November, along with wish lists and addresses.
Delivery is optional, but encouraged—especially for bikes, which must be delivered along with a helmet and lock. Many adopters also include an HEB gift card for a holiday meal; if not, one is provided by another volunteer.
Families not adopted are divided into individual ornaments with a gift wish. Parishioners select an ornament after Mass on the two weekends before Thanksgiving, purchase, and wrap the gift. Gifts are collected by Sunday, Dec. 7, and SVdP volunteers regroup them for delivery starting Tuesday, Dec. 9.
Monetary donations are welcome to help provide HEB gift cards or cover gifts that weren’t chosen. Thank you for helping make Christmas brighter for families in need!
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Frequently asked questionsDo I have to wrap the gift? Yes Please.
Do I need to attach a gift tag? - yes please. If you’ve adopted a family, please put the family members name on each gift. Be sure the family number is also on each gift if you are not delivering and return the gifts to the church. If you took an ornament, please attach the ornament as the gift tag.
Why is there a strict Dec 7th deadline for gifts to be returned to the church? Once all the gifts are returned to the church, next we must reorganize them to ensure all the gifts for each family are together and accounted for, purchase any gifts from ornaments that were not chosen and ensure that the gifts for each family are ready to be picked up by our delivery people on the 9th.
What if I'm not here Dec 7th? - you can drop the gift off early in the SJN front office (door by the playground).
If I’ve adopted a family and I'm buying the HEB gift card, how much should it be for?
Why are you also asking for money? We need to purchase HEB gift cards for families that were not adopted or adopted but the HEB gift card was not included as well as purchase gifts for each family member whose ornament was not chosen.
How do I donate money?- Electronically - Choose “SVDP Christmas” on the SJN donations website
- Check - put “SVDP Christmas” in the memo line of your check
- Cash – put cash in an SVDP Envelope or one of your own labeled with “SVDP Christmas”
What are the key deadline dates? Nov 1st Adopt a Family forms due, ornament weekend Nov 15-16th and Nov 22-23rd, all gifts due by Dec 7th at noon in the Narthex, Delivery Driver pick up date Dec 9th
Why is there a limit of $60 per gift? to ensure that each child in each family is receiving about the same amount of value for their gifts. If you are adopting a family, you can spend as much as you would like as long as the amount for each child is roughly even.
What if I just want to deliver the gifts? There will be a delivery driver sign up QR code when the ornaments go out. To deliver gifts, you must pick them up on pick up day, Tues Dec 9th between 8am and 3pm. You then text then call the family that day to arrange for the date and time you will deliver. You then deliver the gifts and HEB card.
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