Bringing Joy to Families at Christmas 

Christmas 2024 update as of 12/12/2024

We are overwhelmed with gratitude! Thanks to your incredible support, we not only met but exceeded our goal, ensuring that every family will be cared for this holiday season. Your kindness has made a profound impact, and we cannot thank you enough.

This Christmas we partnered with Mission Community Church, Providence Church West Chester, and caring individuals to provide gifts to the children of moms at the Chester County Prison through Chester County's uniquely personal Christmas blessings program.

While we celebrate this success, we are excited to look toward the future. Your continued giving allows us to plan and prepare for future ministry endeavors, ensuring we can meet the needs of families impacted by incarceration in the months to come.

If you feel led to give, know that every contribution goes directly toward making a difference. Together, we can continue spreading hope and love throughout the year.

How it Works:

  1. Our sponsors choose a family unit or sibling group, so they become acquainted with the family as a whole, not just one child. Sponsors call the caregivers themselves for gift ideas and personally drop the gifts off, if possible. For larger families, we encourage small groups or several families to partner together. 

  2. We also provide each sponsor with age-appropriate Bible(s) for the child(ren) in their chosen family. 

  3. We then take it a step further, raising money to bless those caring for the children with $50 Walmart gift cards, so the caregivers feel seen and appreciated in the process. 

  4. Finally, we bring it full circle by providing cards for our sponsors to write to their family's mom in prison, letting her know what they purchased and how the drop off went. It all makes for a very special, meaningful connection.

How you can be involved in our Christmas Blessings program:

  1. BECOME A FAMILY SPONSOR: This year we accepted 36 applications for families, totaling 96 kids, and all families were chosen! Potential sponsors used SignUp Genius to choose their family based on their delivery location and the number of children. After signing up, they each received the family's full information, Bibles for the children, and a Walmart gift card for their caregiver(s).  If you're new to our program and are considering becoming a sponsor for next year, please take a look at our Guidelines.

  2. DONATE. Each year we sponsor about 100 children and our contributions exceed $2700. This amount covers the children's Bibles, Walmart gift cards for our families, cards, bags, and other direct costs involved with making this program a reality.  As a 100% faith-based ministry, all of our funding for the dedicated missionaries and administrative support to make this happen comes through the incredible generosity of donors.  You can help to continue this successful outreach by donating through our secure online options with PayPal or Venmo, or write a check to Life Transforming Ministries and mail to: LTM, P.O. Box 29, Coatesville, PA 19320

  3. PRAY: Families are still being reached out to and most of the gifts have yet to be delivered. Please pray for the children's caregivers to respond to phone calls and trust their sponsors, allowing them to bless their family. Pray for the sponsors as they shop and wrap their gifts to find joy in the giving. Pray for the Bibles to be opened and read. Pray that families feel seen and loved by our God and His Church, and that lives are transformed. Thank you!

 

Any Questions? Email Michelle Manthey.

Testimonies from Angel Tree 2023 Sponsors

“It was such a blessing to be able to participate in Angel Tree. The grandmother invited me into her home and let me meet her grandson who was receiving the gifts. She was so thankful of everything and texted me again afterwards to let us know how much the kids enjoyed their presents.”  - Katelin

“It was wonderful to get to know such a loving caregiver. We communicated with the grandmother over the period of a month, getting additional specific information on what her grandson likes and hearing a bit of their story. Knowing a mom in prison wants her child taken care of in her absence helps humanize people in prison and reminds us of the ripple effects of every decision we make as individuals and as a society.”  - Becky

“My first interaction with our caregiver had us both in tears. Her granddaughter was so sad her mom would not be home for Christmas, and that she would be unable to get her any Christmas gifts. Oh hello, God! That’s exactly where we came in. The grandmother and I texted back and forth as we were shopping for gifts and ended up going to her restaurant she worked at to drop off the gifts. She showed us a picture of her granddaughter and talked about how hard things were at home. And that this would provide so much joy for her granddaughter.”  - Jamie