Angel Tree

Angel Tree empowers National Ministries to strengthen relationships between incarcerated parents and their children. Each holiday season, local groups deliver a gift, the Gospel and a personal message on behalf of the incarcerated parent to thousands of children.

Unwrapping Hope and Connection

Bringing children and their incarcerated parents together during the holiday season, one gift at a time.

PromisePath program partners often run Angel Tree as part of their program model, but any National Ministry is welcome to use the following materials to facilitate their event. Angel Tree provides families an initial connection point to both your ministry and the local church, encouraging them to get further involved and enveloped in the community.

Preparation Resources

Planning and Preparation Best Practices

Planning ahead is the key to a successful Angel Tree event. We recommend that you begin planning six months before your event. Keep the below tips and tricks in mind, but feel free to be creative to make your event fun and interesting, along with culturally-relevant.

Secure Event Volunteers

Have enough volunteers (typically 1 per 10 children) by working with church partners or a volunteer coordinator. Ensure each volunteer clearly understands their responsibilities when they check in. Have volunteers sign confidentiality and child protection policies.

Secure an Event Venue

Consider venue access, including how children and families will get to the event (and if transportation assistance is necessary).

Obtain Financial and Gift-in-Kind Donations

Reach out to local companies to see if they will provide donations of food or age/gender-appropriate gifts. Ask local churches if they can gift Scripture resources to share the Gospel and let children and families know that Jesus' love is greater than any physical gift they can receive.

Plan Event Program

Secure a guest speaker/guest of honor who can share a message of hope and serve as a role model to the children or families. Guests could be someone from a relevant government department, a prominent community member, a local pastor or a past Angel Tree recipient.

Visit Prison to Promote Event

Go into the prison to meet with prisoners and obtain child referrals at least 60 days in advance. Ensure you have allowed enough time to contact and invite families, guardians and children to your event.

Promotional Resources

Choose which Angel Tree theme from below you would like to use to promote your event. Most resources are available in English, Spanish, French and Russian.