Every child deserves joy at Christmas.
The Christmas Gift Drive spreads hope and joy each year by giving incarcerated or struggling parents access to presents to give their children at Christmas. Through partnerships with dozens of local organizations and Ohio prisons, these families experience dignity, joy and connection through the simple act of giving.
The Heart Behind the Christmas Gift Drive
The Christmas Gift Drive began with one simple hope: to help incarcerated parents in Ohio create real Christmas memories with their children. Children with an incarcerated parent are four times more likely to end up in prison themselves. But when they can see, hug, and share a moment of connection with their parent—even once a year—that risk drops by a third. So when a child opens a gift and hears, “I love you,” it can change their story.
Each year, volunteers from Crossroads and local churches come alongside our partner, The Four-Seven, to host special celebrations called Christmas Miracle. This year, about 2,500 children will experience these moments at 29 prisons across Ohio.
What began in prisons has now expanded beyond those walls, extending to families in need across Ohio and Kentucky. Through community partnerships, over 6,000 children this season will receive gifts chosen through “Christmas Shops”—pop-up stores where parents can select gifts with love and dignity.
Give
Grab an ornament from your site and follow the attached purchasing instructions. Don’t have an ornament? Here’s how to purchase a gift for the Four-Seven and your Local Site:
Serve
Part of making Christmas Gift Drive come alive is all the people that prepare for and help at Christmas Miracle events and site shops. Pick a serving option below.
Praying for kids
When you pick up an ornament at your Site, please put it on your tree as a reminder to pray to for the child it represents. Scan the QR code on the ornaments for ways to experience meaningful family connections this holiday season.
Ways you can pray over your child:
- Their health
- Protection
- Their future
- Their relationships with friends and family
- To come to know they are loved by God
Bonus Content
Take your family (or yourself) through a prayer guide specifically tailored to help you get the most out your Christmas Gift Drive experience. To engage, you will need the crossroads app. If you don’t have the app, download it below and then come back to this page to access the direct link.
Not near a physical Crossroads location?
You can participate Anywhere. Purchase and send a gift online here.