Families, businesses and community groups are collecting money and planning shopping trips to buy clothes and gifts for children this year.
They don’t know quite yet whether they will be shopping for a 5-year-old boy or a 15-year-old girl or both. But they know that more than 1,500 children in Johnson County are counting on them to be their Christmas Angels.
The United Way of Johnson County matches children in need with families, businesses or civic groups who want to help through its annual Christmas Angels program. The children each get an outfit and one gift, such as a toy for a toddler, with sponsors spending about $100 per child.
In 2015, 1,649 children received gifts. Nearly 1,400 of them were matched with a sponsor who bought specifically for their needs. The remaining children got their gifts and clothes when their families were invited to shop for them at the annual Christmas Angels store, said Nancy Lohr Plake, executive director of the United Way.
You can help by sponsoring a specific family or child, or donating money or new clothes or gifts for the Christmas Angels store.
History shows that Johnson County is home to big givers. Consider this: last Christmas, children in 529 families were sponsored by 128 sponsors. Some organizations may take on more than 100 children. Or a family can choose to sponsor just one child or children from a single family.
The program is county-wide, and the United Way’s records show that hundreds of students who attend Clark-Pleasant, Center Grove, Franklin and Greenwood schools are helped. The most children ever helped was in 2008, months after a flood displaced hundreds of families. More than 2,000 children received gifts that year.
Your family, work group or church can decide how many children to sponsor and whether you want your gift to be anonymous or whether you want to deliver to the children personally, Plake said.
Sponsors who are matched with teens and tweens have the hardest time selecting gifts, so the United Way helps with providing a wish list for those age groups.
Children who are in need of clothing and a gift are identified mostly through the local schools, and families have to provide proof of their need, Plake said.
The invite-only Christmas Angels store will be open for two days in December for children who weren’t matched with a sponsor. More than 30 sponsoring families, groups or businesses provide items for the store.
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How to help
United Way of Johnson County Christmas Angels
Sponsor children in need: Go to http://www.uwjc.org/christmas-angels or call the United Way office at 317-736-7840
Provide gifts or clothing for the Christmas Angels store: Donations of new clothing and gifts for children can be dropped off during normal business hours at the United Way office at 594 Ironwood Drive, Franklin.
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