The Angel Tree Store is a one-day shopping experience at Legacy Early College managed and stocked by Christ Church parishioners and volunteers. Scholarships are awarded to families in need. In 2025, the parents of 200 children will be invited to Christmas shop for their kids on December 6.
Parents pay $5 per child for admittance to the store where they select a stocking and three gifts (small, medium and large) for each of their children. Christ Church volunteers assist by shopping with the parents, wrapping gifts and praying with and for the parents and their families. This approach to the Angel Tree concept empowers parents to select gifts which are both appropriate for their family as well as desired by their child and allows parents the dignity and joy of Christmas shopping for their child. The store is stocked with a variety of toys complied from wish lists obtained from the scholars as well as popular toys of the season. Watch the 2024 video to see the magic and many hands that bring this special store together for these deserving families.
There are three ways you can help with the Angel Tree Store: stock the store, stuff a stocking or volunteer at the store. Find out more below!!
Read more about these opportunities below. No matter how you choose to get involved, your generosity will help make this Christmas unforgettable for so many families in our community.
Questions? Contact Jessica Clayton 843.557.2121 or Kevin Mertens 864.282.3100.
There are three ways to help with the Angel Tree Store!
You can Stock the Store in two different ways!
When you purchase a gift from our Amazon Wish List, the toy will be
sent directly to Christ Church. There are large, medium and small gifts
on the list so you can choose what level of financial commitment you are
able to make. Feel free to buy multiple gifts as we want to make this
year an overwhelming success!
Don't have time to shop? Use the link above to make an online donation, or bring a check to the Parish House Front Office (payable to Christ Church with Angel Tree Store in the memo line). Click here for online giving instructions.
Gifts are due Monday, December 1. We encourage everyone to shop early!
Pick up a stocking in the Parish House lobby. Attached to the
stocking will be the name, gender and age of the child for whom you are
filling the stocking. Please fill with age-appropriate items and return
to the Parish House (Room 251) no later than Monday, November 24.
Suggested Items:
Crayons,
small toys, socks, toothbrush, toothpaste, balls, candy, erasers,
stickers, nail polish, coloring books, cards, UNO, etc.
We need quite a few hands to help with everything from toy assembly and wrapping to store setup and breakdown. Examples of volunteer opportunities are listed below. Click here to sign up!
- Sorters and Assemblers
- Set Up
- Greeter (1-2 volunteers per shift)
- Check In (1-2 volunteers per shift)
- Shopper (6 volunteers per shift)
- Toy Wrapper (8 volunteers per shift)
- Runner (2 volunteers per shift)
- Clean-up Crew
FAQs & Additional Information
Please use the address on file which will send the gifts directly to the church
No worries. Just find something similar. For example, the Our Generation dolls from Target are just as great as an American Girl Doll.
Anywhere – Walmart, Target, Costco, etc.
Unwrapped, please, so we can display them at the store.
While gently used toys are great, the intention of this ministry is to create the look and feel of a real toy store. Therefore, we are requesting only new toys.
While
that is certainly a need, we are blessed in Greenville to have many
organizations that support that need (especially around Christmas). This
ministry is focused solely on the joy of Christmas that we believe
every child (and parent) should be able to experience even if they have
fallen on hard times. Part of the joy of being a parent at Christmas is
picking out the perfect gift for your child and anticipating the
excitement they will show Christmas morning when they open that gift.
This ministry allows for the parents to experience that same joy.
Keep
in mind that while the wish lists we collected serve as suggestions for
the toys we will have in the store, the parents will make the ultimate
decision on what their child will receive. Therefore, any toy you choose
will bring joy Christmas morning to a child who may otherwise not get
to experience presents under the tree.
While there are many benefits of the Angel Tree Store for both the volunteers who participate from our church and the families we are serving through the store, we believe the three most impactful benefits are:
- Parents will make a financial investment of $5 per child which brings a level of dignity in being able to provide Christmas for their children.
- Parents, who know their children best, will get to choose the gifts their children receive Christmas morning. Part of the joy of being a parent at Christmas is picking out the perfect gift for your child and anticipating the excitement they will show Christmas morning when they open that gift. This ministry allows for the parents to experience that same joy.
- Lastly, and arguably one of the biggest benefits is the connection to the community and the ability to truly be the hands and feet of Christ. Our congregation will have the opportunity to engage with and pray with our neighbors and show the parents that enter the store that they are loved.
