Your community loves your family
You are so loved and supported by your community. We want to partner with our community to love on your foster kiddos this Christmas and give the gift of joy on Christmas morning! We hope this is their best Christmas yet!
Before applying, please take a moment and read our FAQ below to understand the full scope of our program and the requirements.
Did you hear?! We have expanded our reach and are still serving families in West Central Florida and Northeast Florida, but in 2024 we are adding Northwest Florida! To apply for your child to be sponsored, please select the appropriate chapter:
Our 2024 Programs are now open!
The North Florida Collective serves Bradford, Union, Alachua, Clay, Duval, Baker and surrounding counties
The Northwest Florida Collective serves Escambia, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, Walton and surrounding counties
The West Central Florida Collective serves Pasco, Hillsborough, Pinellas, Hernando, Polk, Hardee, Manatee, Sarasota and surrounding counties
PROGRAM FAQ
Who qualifies for this program?
Anyone who is currently in the child welfare system as a foster child can apply to get sponsored.
Can children adopted from foster care apply to get sponsored?
At this time, we are not sponsoring children that have been adopted from foster care.
What can we expect our foster child to receive from this?
We do our absolute best to insure that every kid gets some basics like an outfit, pair of shoes, socks, undies and pajamas. We also ask each sponsor to get a couple of their wishlist items and then a few additional smaller items.
Can someone deliver the gifts to our home?
While we would love to do a Santa drop, we simply do not have the manpower to pull that off.
Can someone else pick up our gifts at the pick up event?
Each family is responsible for picking up their own gifts at the pick up event and are not allowed to have someone else pick them up - this includes case managers, family development specialists, other family members, etc. There will be absolutely ZERO exceptions on this.
If we cannot make the pick up date, can another time be arranged?
We would love to be able to accommodate everyone’s schedules, but we are unable to offer appointments other than the designated pick up date. We are at the mercy of our donors and things often arrive as late as the day of the pick up event and we like to respect the personal lives of our team and volunteers so we are not able to arrange for a date after the pick up event. There will be absolutely ZERO exceptions on this. If you are not able to pick up on the designated date, please do not sign up to have your foster child sponsored.
Can I pick up our items after the pick up event?
Unfortunately no, all items that are not picked up at the pick up event will be distributed to other children or donated to local foster closets. We like to respect the personal lives of our team and volunteers so we are not able to arrange for a date after the pick up event. There will be absolutely ZERO exceptions on this. If you are not able to pick up on the designated date, please do not sign up to have your foster child sponsored.
Do I need to bring anything verification with me?
Yes! We require all foster parents to bring a hard copy of their current custody letters for each child (all placements are verified with case managers prior to being matched with a sponsor) and a government photo ID. We are not able to give the gifts the night of the pick up if these are not provided. There will be absolutely ZERO exceptions on this.
Do you verify that every child that applies for sponsorship is actually an active foster child in the system of care?
Yes! To protect the integrity of our program, we do verify that EVERY child is actually an active foster child. We have had to turn away foster families from our program entirely for being dishonest. Please respect our program, sponsors and the generosity of gifts, money and time that is spent making this happen for fosters every year.