Operation Christmas Wishes is our annual holiday program where we bring together families from the Chicagoland community. Low income families in need are paired up with generous sponsors like you who help them give their children a Christmas to remember.

First, thank you so much! We have several hundred children in need and have even had to turn away some families which is devastating. We would love to get all these kids sponsored so we can potentially bring in a few more.

1.Fill out this registration form. It will take 2 minutes to complete.

2. We will match you with your assigned kid(s) by November 22nd.

3. You will receive a document with the kid’s age, interests, clothing sizes, needs and a few wishes. Please expect to spend $75 - $150 per child, slightly more or less depending on how deal savvy you are. Remember that for most children in our program, what you give them is ALL they will receive.

4. If you don’t wish to shop for gifts, but still want to sponsor a child, please consider sending a cash donation here and we will do the shopping for you!

5. If you wish to help, but don’t have a budget of at least $75, please consider donating some things from our Amazon wishlist here. We will gather the goodies sent and put together a complete Christmas bag for children who didn’t get a sponsor.

6. We ask that you purchase gifts from their needs AND wish lists. You will leave the gifts unwrapped, but ask that you supply a roll of wrapping paper for the parents to wrap the gifts. That way they know what they’re giving their kids :)

7. Please CLEARLY LABEL each gift with the child’s name and family number so we can identify what gift goes to who.

8. We aren’t to a point where we can include parent’s wish lists and needs, but encourage you to also pick up a gift card for the parents from somewhere like Target, Walmart, Jewel or Aldi. That way they can feel empowered to make a nice meal for their family and maybe even pick up a few things themselves.

9. You will have three options to get the gifts to us:

>>Drop gifts off at the Paying it Forward store: 821 W Chicago Ave, East Chicago, IN 46312. You can sign up for your drop off date soon.

>>Mail your gifts to Paying it Forward: 4328 Olcott Ave, East Chicago IN, 46312

>>Schedule a pickup. You can request this when you fill out your sponsor form. We will be picking up between December 10 - 15 and will give you a date / time to pick from once it’s closer and we have all sponsors organized.

No problem! Just email info@payingitforwardnwi.com letting us know a few times that would work for you and we will figure out a time together.

For some of our programs, yes! For this program though, we do not. These should be brand new gifts for the children.

It is first come, first serve. If there is a certain age, gender or other criteria that you are hoping to get matched with, please add that to the “anything else you want us to know” question when you fill out the form.

Target, Walmart, Kohls, Aldi, and Jewel are great. Otherwise any other large chain box store would be okay too!

If you would like to receive a tax receipt that includes the estimate value of your donation, please email us at: info@payingitforwardnwi.com

To protect the privacy and dignity of each family, there will not be an opportunity to meet the family or drop the gifts off at their home.

Please let us know ASAP! There is no shortage of children needing help. In addition to the families that have requested help, we also have hundreds of kids who live in shelters that we try to give a nice Christmas to too.

Each family went through a rigorous interview process, including meeting with the Paying it Forward president Tamye, before being accepted into the program. These are good people who just want to give their kids a nice holiday - and now they will be able to thanks to you!

Email us at info@payingitforwardnwi.com and we will help you get the answer you need!

No! Please leave gifts unwrapped, but include a roll of wrapping paper for the parents to wrap the gifts. Please also clearly label each gift with the child’s name AND family number so we can quickly identify what gifts go to who.

Please please let us know ASAP. These families are very low income and most kids will only be receiving whatever you purchase for them. If there’s a chance this may happen, please consider purchasing gifts from our Amazon Wish List or making a donation to the program in the amount of whatever is in your current budget.

Yes! Please fill out the form HERE.

Please do!! The more, the merrier!