Children are the innocent victims when a parent winds up in prison and the pressures on the family without a breadwinner and parent are especially acute during the holiday season. St. Andrew parishoners volunteer to purchase special gifts for these children through a program of giving and love called Angel Tree.
St. Andrew adopted Angel Tree as a Mission effort in 1999 to bring Christmas gifts to the children of imprisoned parents on behalf of the missing parent and in the name of Jesus Christ.
Our goal is to reach 40 children in the Sonoma Valley and provide each with a fun gift and a gift of clothing. Volunteers are given the name, age and gift wish of a specific child and asked go purchase it, no later than mid-December. All are invited to participate in gift purchasing.
During the week of December 15th, we prepare family gift bags to include the gifts of all children in the family, match each family to a pair of delivery volunteers, and make the bags available to them in time for delivery to the children in the final days before Christmas
Thanks to our Angel Tree Coordinator, Denise Wilbanks, for her continuing work in making Angel Tree a success.