Anyone who has stepped inside a store or shopping mall lately can attest that preparation has already begun for the 2017 Christmas season. While Christians do have a special joy to celebrate on Christmas day, everyone gets excited about Christmas presents. Especially children. For many parents and guardians, however, providing kids with Christmas presents seems impossible due to financial insecurity.

In the city, for the city

All across our town, families are experiencing anxiety rather than joy this Christmas. Many families in Columbia are already living below the poverty line, and things like medical emergencies, incarceration and job loss can financially devastate even middle-class households. For many of our neighbors, Christmas is just one more item on the list of things they cannot afford. This reality is particularly devastating for those who are raising children.

Karis Church is passionate about the city of Columbia and the citizens residing here. We want to do everything we can to serve and love our neighbors, meeting both their spiritual and the physical needs. For Karis Church, Christmas is the perfect opportunity for us to show the same grace and mercy that we have been shown through Jesus Christ. Using a model developed by other churches and organizations across the country, Karis Church was able to launch our Affordable Christmas program in 2016. Local schools and service organizations helped put us in touch with families in need, and these men and women were invited to shop for children’s presents at extremely low prices, making Christmas shopping far more affordable for those struggling to make ends meet.

Celebration with dignity

Affordable Christmas is distinct from other Christmas gift programs because parents are not receiving free Christmas presents that have been pre-selected by strangers. Affordable Christmas shoppers are buying gifts for their own children, with their own money. While Affordable Christmas is supportive of other Christmas charities, we believe that there is still a population of people who aren’t being served during the holidays.  Many Christmas gift programs have strict income limits, and income isn’t the only contributing factor when considering financial need. Some programs only provide gifts for very young children, with few options for households with teenagers. Finally, many adults feel embarrassment and shame for accepting any sort of financial help, even when the need is severe.

Affordable Christmas shoppers choose and purchase gifts for children at 10% of the original sticker price. For instance, an Easy Bake Oven that is typically over $40.00 would be available for shoppers to purchase for $5. The Affordable Christmas store is stocked with new toys, clothes, books and games using donations from Karis Church members, local businesses and individual donors. Participants are provided breakfast, childcare, and a personal shopper while they purchase gifts for the kids in their households. The Affordable Christmas store is closed to the public, and photography of shoppers is prohibited. In this way, Affordable Christmas hopes to preserve the privacy and comfort of all those participating.

Our intention for every shopper is to reduce their financial stress, eliminate the shame that is sometimes attached to receiving help and empower participating families to be the hero for their kids on Christmas morning; not us.

If this vision for serving families in Columbia resonates with you, would you consider joining us this Christmas season?

How can I help?

There are three primary ways to partner with Affordable Christmas this year:

DONATE

We offer two simple ways for donors to provide gifts for our Affordable Christmas store. The first is through GivingFire. Interested donors can follow this link to Karis Church’s donation center, then click “Affordable Christmas” from the list of possible options. Any funds you direct towards the Affordable Christmas fund will only be used for that purpose.

If you enjoy shopping for gifts, we encourage you to drop them off on a Sunday at Karis Church. We have set up a Christmas tree in the lobby so that donors may leave whatever gifts they purchase to be placed in our store. You can also shop online by visiting the Affordable Christmas Amazon wishlist. These gifts can be directly delivered to us.

VOLUNTEER

Volunteers are the backbone of our event, and we are always in need of more volunteers on shopping day. Are you enthusiastic, welcoming and interested in personally serving our shoppers?  You can sign up to serve as a volunteer on December 9th. Please register to volunteer quickly so that your preferred team still has room for you!

PRAY

We believe that prayer is transformative, and that community is powerful. Affordable Christmas leaders ask you to pray for our humility as we serve our neighbors. We also pray that all of our shoppers come to know a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. We ask for all of our friends, family members and neighbors to share this post with the prayer that others may feel compelled to help in some way (or start an Affordable Christmas program in their own city!) Will you pray for us and share news about this event over the coming months?

You can download this helpful prayer guide and pray with us during our 25 Days of Affordable Christmas:

If you have additional questions about Affordable Christmas, please contact the Director of Affordable Christmas.