How the Gift Drive Works

Donating shoeboxes of gifts to the JollyVisits Gift Drive is EASY:

At the "dollar store" for a few things? Maybe the little one wants a coloring or activity book... don't buy one, buy two. Put the second one in the shoebox. Same with crayons, markers, colored pencils or whatever.

Buying a "grab bag" item or other small gift for someone's birthday? Buy two.

None of the items in the shoeboxes need be expensive at all. We're suggesting $5 TOTAL, not per item, in each shoebox. We're counting on the kind-hearted people who CAN afford $5 per box so we can give out blessings to those who can't afford Christmas gifts for their children.

The math is simple... if Santa gets 100 people to donate one box a month, 1,100 children will receive free Christmas gifts from us this year. If we get 500 people to donate ONE BOX a month between January 15th and November 30, we'll have 5,500 gifts to give away.

Here are a few things we DON'T want:

1) We DON'T WANT people donating expensive gifts. If you want to provide specific items for a specific family, Santa will deliver them; please see "FREE Visits With Santa" for information.

2) We DON'T want food or other perishable items. Should you have those items to donate, please contact Pastor James Dynarski, director of Simple Needs Outreach in South River, at 908-930-2592. You may also reach Pastor James at https://www.facebook.com/tabernaclebaptistsr . Pastor James gives away hundreds of FREE coats, canned food items, toiletries and more to families from our area. There's never a cost or application process and the giveaways happen year-round.

3) We DON'T want used toys for the SHOEBOX GIFT DRIVE. We will gladly accept donations of used toys, but they will be offered for FREE at other public events; people will be able to help themselves. We cannot give away used toys during an event like the Gift Drive without legal disclaimers about product safety, recalls and liability. Thanks for your understanding!

Here are a few notes to help your decision-making process in putting together your shoeboxes:

** If you want to donate Spanish-language (or other language) books or materials, please do so in a donation for a specific family or group, such as a school, church group, daycare, etc so we know that the children who receive the gifts in other languages can get the most enjoyment out of them.

** If any of your shoebox items require batteries, please provide them (if you choose to provide batteries) IN THEIR ORIGINAL PACKAGING, NOT installed in the items themselves. Many of these shoeboxes will be in storage for months at a time and we don't want to risk battery leakage.

Have a question we haven't answered here? Please email us at JollyVisits@gmail.com for more information! Thank You!