Seneca, South Carolina · since 2000

Twenty-six Christmases. Thirty thousand children.

For 26 years, neighbors across Oconee County have made sure no local child wakes up to nothing on Christmas morning. Every dollar came from this community. Every gift went to a child who lives here.

Give toward this Christmas How sponsorship works

Sponsorship opens again on October 22. Until then, every gift keeps the lights on.

Over 30,000 Christmas mornings, and counting.

What this community has done

Small town. Long memory. Big numbers.

Christmas for Kids has never had a national office or a paid ad campaign. It has had the people of Oconee County, one December at a time.

26
years
Every Christmas since 2000
$5.3M
cash and toy donations
Given by neighbors
10,000
families helped
Kept together, treated with dignity
More than
30,000
children with gifts
Under a tree on Christmas morning
Our story

It started with a list of names and a newsroom in Seneca.

Christmas for Kids began in 2000 as a simple idea: local families going through a hard year shouldn't have to explain to their children why Christmas didn't come.

Families apply and are accepted based on income and/or unexpected life changes that create a special circumstance. Each child is given a numerical ID to protect their identity, and a wish list is posted based on their desires and interests.

Oconee County neighbors who are able to help can choose children by age or gender, or select an entire family to sponsor. The donor then uses the wish list to shop and brings the gifts, marked for that child, to The Journal. Christmas for Kids double-checks the clothes and shoe sizes and ensures the gifts get to the correct family.

Only about a quarter of the children are sponsored — about 200 out of 1,000. Many people don't have time to shop or simply prefer to donate money. The money donated typically buys Christmas for over 800 children each year. If there are enough funds, Christmas for Kids can also provide filled stockings for the younger kids and a little gift wrap and tape to help make Christmas morning extra special.

Twenty-six years in, the idea hasn't changed. Only the numbers have.

Christmas for Kids helped make the holidays magical for our family during a difficult time. The way they handled everything with such care and respect meant everything to us.
— A local family
How a sponsorship works

Four steps between a name on a list and a gift under a tree.

This is the order it happens in every year. Sponsors join at step three, when the list opens on October 22.

  1. Families are identified

    Local schools, community organizations, and families themselves tell us which children would benefit this year.

  2. A profile is written

    With permission, each child gets a respectful profile: interests, wishes, and basics like clothing sizes.

  3. Neighbors help

    Monetary donations fund about 80 percent of the gifts. Sponsors browse the list, pick a child or a whole family, and shop for the gifts.

  4. Christmas is delivered

    Parents and guardians pick up the gifts so every sponsored child has presents on Christmas morning.

Made possible by
The Journaland the people of Oconee County