Today many people donate toys and bring them to a family as a gift around Christmas. The family receiving these gifts may be struggling to get by but may still be seeking the personal dignity that providing for their family brings. They want to buy their own Christmas gifts and give them to their family.
The Christmas with Dignity Store meets that need and desire by providing a store with donated new items available to purchase for those who might typically be unable to afford their own Christmas gifts for their family. This ministry also creates an opportunity to connect with families in need and minister to them beyond the store.
The Christmas with Dignity Store provides donors with a personal satisfaction of helping others, provides children with a better Christmas than they might otherwise receive, and restores personal dignity to our customers by allowing them to buy their own Christmas gifts.
When will the store be open? How does it work?
- The store will be open on December 7th and 14th
- Items in the store will be sold for roughly 10% of their full retail value
- Proceeds will offset the store operations cost and funding to meet any ministry needs identified through interaction with customers
- Customers will be given a shopping pass to shop at the store. This invitation style approach alleviates the need for screening at the store.
- The Jernigan Sunday School class is sponsoring the store
So, what can I do?
You can participate through the following activities:
- Bring toy or food donations starting November 10th through December 1st. We will be sharing more information on toy and food donation requests.
- Be a volunteer to help with the setup and/or operation of the store.
I don’t understand,why do you charge store operating cost and sales tax?
The sales tax has already been paid by the person who donated the item, their should be no need to pay tax again on the same item.
We have now determined that sales taxes are not owed. We originally believed they were. We are charging a nominal fee for the gifts as a way to restore the dignity to the shoppers, to be treated as customers. That’s the ‘dignity’ part of the store concept. What people pay defers the small amount to operate the store and the balance goes back into new ministries to serve the community and/or customer needs identified through the store itself.
I hope this helps explain the concept better.
This is a great idea. Do you have specific toys to buy or is the selection up to the donor?
What foods are you requesting?
I would like very much to help.
When and where do I drop off any donations?
Thanks for your questions. We’ve suggested buy items that people would be less likely to afford on their own, but I leave that to your individual judgement and budget. Toys that are popular – electronics, bikes, etc – if its in high demand that is most likely to be what our shoppers are looking for as well. You may drop your donations at the church office now through December 14th. The church office is open M-F 8-4. You may also bring donations during any service times. Saturday 6pm, Sunday 8am or 10:30am or Wednesday at 6:30pm