Angel Tree

Angel Tree, a program of Prison Fellowship, reaches out to the children of inmates and their families

For 2.7 million American children, who have a parent in prison, their lives are filled with abandonment, loneliness, and shame that come from having a mom or dad in prison.

Many of these children follow their parents down the same destructive road to incarceration.

Angel Tree tries to break that cycle, by connecting the children of inmates with local churches, who are trained to help meet their needs.

My favorite program: The church sponsor buys Christmas gifts on behalf of the prisoner to give to his or her children. The parent helps pick out the gift(s) and signs the card. The gift is given to the child as if the parent has chosen and sent it. Lovely—and it means the world to the child.