Christmas Outreach

Are you a parish family in need of assistance this Christmas? Applications for the 2023 Christmas Giving Tree will be available beginning September 16, 2023. If you are a registered and active parishioner of St. Andrew the Apostle (for a minimum of 6 months), and would like to be considered, please complete a 2023 Giving Tree Intake Form and return by October 8 to our Caring Ministries Office or Parish Office.  Click here to download our intake form.

Beginning Saturday, November 4: Gift Tags will be available. Gifts may be dropped off in the Parish Office 9:00am-5:00pm or Caring Ministries Office 9:00am-12:00pm, Monday-Thursday.

Thank you for participating in our Giving Tree Program and continued support of the Caring Ministries Outreach Programs!

Take a Picture of your Star with your Phone, so you have it with you when shopping or if it gets misplaced we can replace it! “Click A Pic.”

All gift tags will be $25 or less.

Sunday, December 3: All gifts must be returned.

I took a gift card tag for a particular store, can I substitute it or add an additional gift? 
Many times the card is just a suggestion (for example a teenager or the family most likely shops at xyz-store). If you wish to wrap the card with something like a box of candy it is fine; generally we receive the cards back in an envelope with the tag securely fastened on the outside.

Some families receive a Target or Wal-Mart card for other incidentals.

Most teens request a gift card rather than an item. Occasionally, we are unable to determine an exact size, a gift card allows the person to purchase what is needed.

Who are we helping this year? 
The list of agencies and groups that we are assisting this year are:

• Parishioners and parishioner referrals
• Mother's Lifeline
• St. Peter's Mission
• St. Anthony's Mission
• East Valley Catholic Charities Foster Children Program
• Healthy Families Program
• Starbright Foundation

Why is it so important to "securely" tape the tag to the gift?
The tag is how we know who is supposed to receive the gift. We want the gifts to go to the right families on the first try! When the tags fall off or can't be read by the volunteers who are sorting the gifts, we often can't identify who is to receive the gift. When that happens, someone does not receive a Christmas present. Take a picture of your Star, so you have it with you when you are shopping or in case it gets misplaced!!

What happens if I don't bring the gift to church by the 11:00 Mass on December 4? 
We sort the gifts right after the 11:00am Mass on December 4. The gifts are readied for pick-up by some families as well as the agencies. Many of these families begin arriving at church before we are finished sorting. If gifts are brought back later than the 11:00am Mass on December 4, we cannot always get them to the recipient before Christmas.

Where do you get the names? 
Our focus is first to assist families within our faith community, then those in our civic community, then those who often are not the focus of other groups. We have learned that many groups will provide assistance to children and parents in need, but do nothing for teens. We have tried to fill that gap somewhat.

In recent years the Giving Tree referrals came from parishioners, Mother's Lifeline, Chandler social service agencies, St. Peter's Indian Mission, East Valley Catholic Charities Foster Children program to name most of them.

How do you get the names? 
In late September to early October, we put an announcement in the parish bulletin that we are taking referrals. It usually runs for about 3 weeks. We take referrals from parishioners who work for Social Service Agencies as well as referrals for families who are part of our faith community or people parishioners know who are in need of assistance.

We also contact the agencies we plan to work with to figure out how many families or individuals from each agency we can assist. We give them a deadline, usually early October, to provide us with the information about the people they want us to help.

What happens next? As soon as the referrals start coming in, members of the Giving Tree ministry either contact the referred families to get names, sizes and gift wish information or if we have the information on the forms from the agencies, we start creating wish lists.

Finally, we have one great day when we sort all those gifts by the family identification number. Some of the gifts are delivered to the agencies, and some of the gifts are picked up at the church. Either way it takes a tremendous effort from a fabulous group of volunteers to get all this work done in a short period of time.

What do the tags really say? 
The information on the tag should include:

• A number to identify the family or organization
• Either the name, age and sex of the person or the more generic "Family", Mom or Dad label
• The gift to purchase. If the gift is clothing, it should also include a size.

If I see something that says Joe 7/M, what does it mean? 
That means the child's name is Joe. He is 7 years old and is a male.

Starbright Foundation

The mission of the Starbright Foundation is to rescue children and young adults from human sex trafficking and modern day slavery, as well as other dangerous and abusive environments in association with local law enforcement and governing authorities.

Starbright is establishing "safe houses" which provide maximum safety for endangered children, an environment for healing. They provide hope through crisis counseling, trauma therapy and education. Starbright offers new beginnings for these children through specialized care for victims of cultic, clergy, incest, mental, physical and sexual abuses, as well as comfort for their families. And they promote awareness in the community on the escalating crimes of child pornography and exploitation, which cause human suffering within our communities and nation.

We are partnering with Starbright to sponsor 25 girls and 25 boys for Christmas, youth who really need our help. Your generous gift will help Starbright continue to be the beacon of light for these children that are in need of love that doesn’t hurt and trust that won’t be broken.

Healthy Families Arizona (HFAz)

The mission of Healthy Families Arizona (HFAz)is to enhance parent-child relationships, optimize child health and development, build on family strengths and prevent child abuse and neglect. Program services are designed to strengthen families during the first five years of a child’s life when vital early brain development occurs. HFAz is a prevention program dedicated to supporting families in their quest to be the best parents they can be.

Through our Giving Tree program, we provide gift cards to some of these families to help them with groceries or Target/WalMart gift cards to help them get through the holidays.

St. Peter Indian Mission

St Peter Indian Mission School is located in Bapchule, AZ. It is a private school that serves 198 students in grades K-8. St Peter Indian Mission School is coed (school has male and female students) and is Roman Catholic in orientation. The school belongs to the National Catholic Educational Association.

St. Anthony's Indian Mission

The Christmas Giving Tree provides a happy Christmas to families identified by St. Anthony’s Mission who are having difficulties making ends meet. Through the Christmas Giving Tree program, we are able to give every family we sponsor the following: a family gift and a gift for each child 18 years and under. 

Catholic Charities Foster Families

Catholic Charities recruits and licenses foster families. Some children need a home for one day while others one week, still others may need care for a year or more. There are more than 14,000 children in need of loving homes in Arizona, especially homes willing to keep siblings together. These foster families make a difference in the lives of these children.

Through our Giving Tree program, we provide these families with gifts for the children and gift cards to help them with groceries or Target/WalMart gift cards to help them get through the holidays.

Mother's Lifeline

Mothers’ Lifeline is designed to meet the needs of mothers in crisis situations. Mothers’ Lifeline is part of a community support network for mothers of limited economic means. The support network provides practical assistance to the many challenges a mother faces. This includes the location of material items infant clothing, diapers and nursery items as well as seeking out resources available in the community. Our distribution area is, generally limited to the East Valley; Tempe, Chandler, Mesa and Gilbert.

St. Andrew's Anonymous Parish Families

The Christmas Giving Tree provides a happy Christmas to families in the parish who are having difficulties making ends meet. Through the Christmas Giving Tree program, we are able to give every family we sponsor the following: a family gift, and a gift for each child 18 years and under.

This year, every family that St. Andrew sponsors through our Giving Tree program will receive the following: 1 gift per child under 18 years and a gift card to the family.