27th Annual Christmas Store

LOCALLY SOURCED

27th Annual Christmas Store at the Outreach Community Center on December 11, 2021

The Christmas Store at the Outreach Community Center (OCC) in Carol Stream celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ by offering an affordable and dignified way for families served by OCC to provide Christmas gifts for their children. The impact of COVID-19 in the neighborhood served by OCC was dramatic and devastating. At its peak, the unemployment rate was estimated to be near 30% in southeast Carol Stream. As a result, many families experienced significant loss of income for several months. A lot of families have since returned to employment, but months of lost income continues to impact their ongoing financial position. Fifty-seven percent of the households in the neighborhood served by OCC have an annual income below $27,000, and over 50% of the households are paying 75% of their income in rent to maintain their housing.

The vision in 1994, when the Christmas Store was launched, was for families to have access to affordable Christmas gifts while maintaining the dignity of parents in the process. Having the option for parents to choose each gift for their child and pay for it with their hard-earned money is how the store operates. That year, OCC staff arranged for the store to happen on a small scale (65 families were served in 1994), and the demand grew in the community. As the demand grew, volunteers started helping with the event, and 27 years later, it’s still going strong—we are anticipating over 350 families representing just about 1,000 children in 2021. Even though the COVID-19 pandemic has changed some safety protocols at the Christmas Store (face coverings and social distancing), the vision for the store remains at its core to this day—to give community families access to affordable gifts in a way that maintains their sense of dignity and use the proceeds to assist the community throughout the year.

You are invited to be a part of this wonderful Christmas tradition by donating gifts to the Christmas Store and/or to volunteer for the festivities. Here are ways you can get involved!

• Volunteer to help with the event. Register after November 1.

• Donate toward event expenses.

• Give a gift in one of the following ways:

Target and Amazon gift registries

Drop off your gift(s) at one of the College Church locations from November 1-December 5. — Kids’ Harbor— Commons main floor dropbox— Sanctuary fireside area

Drive by the front of the church building on December 4 from 12-2 p.m. Pull into the cutout, and someone will meet you at your car.

Be a part of the 27-year tradition and bless someone’s Christmas this year! For more information, contact outreach@collegechurch.org