2011 Gift List

Foster Youth Gift List

As long as there are foster children, there are needs, so the possibilities to help are limitless! Providing the Presence for a Lifetime for children doesn’t require having a perfect plan, or even adoption. It only requires a compassionate heart and a willingness to take the first step. Please contact Gift for a Child to find out how you can make a lasting impact in the lives of these very special young people.

Transition Care Packs and Bags Needed

Thousands of children in the United States need to be rescued from abusive situations each year.  These children are removed suddenly from the home they know and given little time to prepare to move to the foster home or crisis center where they will be placed. Often their few positions are placed in a plastic trash bag, and that becomes their luggage. They deserve better. Help us by sponsoring a transition bag for youth that are being removed from their home.

Gift a College Life Care Pack

The opportunity to go to college is an important goal to many youth in foster care. For those that do end up going to college, support and a connection with people to encourage and inspire them is often lacking.  While their college roommates receive letters, cards, baked goods, gift cards and other items from home, these youth receive very little, if anything. A care package may be a small thing for you, but it’s a big event for them.

Gift a Special Birthday

When a child in foster care has a birthday, it is just like any other day. There are no expectations of receiving a birthday card, cake, candles or a present. There is no special treat and no birthday party. The average foster child experiences three to four moves during the course of his or her stay in the foster care system. With so many changes, it is not surprising that a child’s birthday often gets lost in the shuffle.

You can help say happy birthday by sponsoring a child’s birthday celebration. Your donation provides a birthday card, wrapped present, photo memory and a gift card for a child in foster care. Be the one to say Happy Birthday to child in foster care.

Gift an Adventure

Many foster youth don’t get to experience going to the theater, circus, an afternoon ballet, museum visit or aquarium adventure. We’re looking for venues that will allow us to provide a cultural experience that at risk and abandoned children dream about, but never experience. 

Gift Clothing

Most teenagers worry about clothes, and for those in foster care, dressing with a semblance of style, or even for the changing seasons, can be a real challenge. When a child first enters foster care they don’t come with much clothing. The state agency may provide an initial clothing voucher, but later on, if there are needs like a winter coat, soccer uniform or special circumstances like a growth spurt, it can be difficult to get new clothes. Sometimes, having a brand new coat or other clothing that no one else has worn means as much to a child as having a brand new toy. 

Gift a Haircut and a Style

Children in foster care are provided with limited resources for their personal care like a hair cut or new hairstyle from a professional. If you are a barber or hair stylist, or know someone within your company, church, or temple that is willing to provide free hair cuts or styling for foster children, pay for haircuts, or hold a Haircut-a-Thon to raise money for this type of program, please contact us. 

Gift Educational Materials,  Support and Books

Many children lack needed books, school supplies, resources, tools and other items to help them succeed in school. You can help us improve the educational opportunities of foster chil­dren by being a mentor or providing tutoring, books, school supplies and related materials. Education is a key factor in determining whether most children suc­cessfully make the transition to independence. 

Gift for a Grad

For many foster youth, graduating from high school or college is a very important milestone. Many will receive their graduation diploma but a gift from to recognize and honor this important accomplishment will not be received.