Spread the Spirit of Christmas... "Adopt" a military family through Operation Christmas Spirit

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The best way to spread Christmas JOY, is helping a military girl or BOY!
Okay, so we're not poets, but we do know a lot about spreading the Spirit of Christmas through our Operation Christmas Spirit !

Please note that we are receiving a large volume of wish lists, requests for help and inquiries at this time. Our response time may not be immediate.

Registration to "adopt" families and receive Christmas wish lists closed on December 1st, BUT WE COULD STILL USE YOUR HELP! 

    Register to pledge gift cards, online donation or to receive an alert if we have a family in need in your immediate area December 5th-15th. 

     

    Once you hit "Sign Me Up!" you'll see a screen confirming your registration. This means you are confirmed as registered. Within a day or two of signing up, you will receive more information via email and asked to confirm that you are committed. We are so thankful for your help!
Information About How to Adopt a Family Through Operation Christmas Spirit:
  • If you "adopt" a family, we provide you with an organized wish list created by the family you are blessing.
  • You can do your own shopping, or you can pick wish list items and we can do the shopping for you.
  • This year our focus will be on the following geographic areas for gift pick up events: SoCal (Pendleton, Mirimar, 29 Palms, Balboa); DC Metro Area (Quantico, Joint Base Andrews, Fort Belvoir); Camp Lejeune, NC; Fort Hood, TX; and Fort Sam Houston, TX.
  • We also serve military families who apply for Christmas assistance from all over the country and coordinate with donors to sponsor them. 
  • We try to provide the following for every family we serve:
    • ​A minimum of 3 gifts per child
    • A minimum of 2 gifts per adult (We  send more information about DoD restrictions for giving to service members in each family)
    • A family gift to enjoy together, or for those dealing with deployment, a gift to help family members at home pass the time or enjoy when reunited. (movie passes, care package goodies, Christmas movies, family portraits, etc.)
    • Gift cards for groceries, gas, household goods, and/or clothings to give families the opportunity to do shopping of their own. 
  • We understand that this is asking a lot of donors. Because of this, we also pair up donors to jointly adopt families if interested. In the form below you can also opt to:
    • Provide gifts only (no gift cards)
    • Provide gift cards only (no gifts)
    • Donate online toward a family's wish list
Important Dates for This Year's Program:
  • Now through December 1st: Sign up to adopt a family with wish lists provided to donors.
  • November 15th-December 5th: Wish lists distributed to registered donors.
  • December 10th: Suggested deadline for angel tree collections for families
  • December 12th: Deadline for mailed packages
  • December 14th and 15th: Gift drop off events at various locations-- DEADLINE FOR FAMILY ADOPTION DONATIONS
  • December 16th: Family gift pick ups at Camp Pendleton, Lejeune and Fort Hood
  • December 18th and 19th: Family gift pick ups at DC Metro and TX area locations
We do help families right up until Christmas day, but after December 5th, we encourage donors to help families through online donations and gift cards. This allows us to mail out and deliver assistance quickly to families that come to our attention later in the season. 
Interested in signing up to adopt a family or families? Use the registration below.
​After registering through this form, we will contact you with more information. Because we are now pulling more families with each new request, please allow for up to 7 days for us to get you wish lists.

All of our families from Joint Base Andrews, Fort Belvoir, Fort Hood and Fort Sam Houston have been "adopted"-- all remaining families will be from Camp Lejeune, NC, SoCal, Hawaii, Yuma or Texas.
Important information and Current Status (read further for more specific info): 
When will I receive my wish list(s)? 
Sign up to "adopt" a family today and receive a wish list within 7 days from the time you confirm. No wish lists will be sent out November 23rd-26th as we (an all volunteer organization) take time to spend Thanksgiving with our own military families.
Where are the families Operation Christmas Spirit serves?
We serve families all over the country. We start with unit nominated families in our "hub" regions of SoCal, TX, NC, and DC Metro area, and then work our way through applications for assistance for families all over the country.
Right now, the majority of our waiting families are families of 3 located in SoCal, Camp Lejeune (NC) area, Yuma (AZ), various bases in TX, and Hawaii (a Hawaii unit was just added). We will receive more wish lists for families from Hawaii,  Yuma (AZ), Lejeune (NC) and Washington State mid-week.