Every Child’s Journey is Different. This Thanksgiving, You Can Help Them Choose Their Next Step. 🧡🍂
At the Children’s Aid Society (Children’s Home and Teen Shelter), the children we care for arrive here from many different paths. Some are surviving homelessness. Others are escaping abuse, navigating the foster care system, or coping with the heartbreaking reality of abandonment. They range from toddlers taking their first steps to 17-year-olds preparing for adulthood.
While their stories are vastly different, they all share one thing in common: a loss of control. When a child’s world is upended, they lose the power to make choices about their own lives.
This Thanksgiving, we are launching our Holiday Gift Card Drive to give that power back to them—and to give our shelter the tools to wrap them in complete support.
Your gift card donations change lives in three major ways:
- Dignity of Choice for the Kids: Gift cards allow us to meet the hyper-specific needs of every single child. It means buying a specific diaper brand for a toddler, taking a school-aged child to pick out a new outfit that actually fits, or giving a 17-year-old an Amazon card to choose a book or a hoodie that reflects their personal style.
- Crucial Daily Supplies: When kids arrive in crisis, we need to move fast. Gift cards to Target, Walmart, and grocery stores allow our staff to immediately stock up on exact necessities—from specialized baby formula and hygiene products to fresh, comforting food for our kitchen.
- Joyful Youth Outings: Healing happens when kids get to just be kids. We use gift cards for fast food, movie theaters, bowling, and local activities to take our youth on group outings. For a child healing from trauma, an afternoon of laughter, pizza, and fun with their peers is a vital part of reclaiming their childhood.
A gift card might fit quietly inside a Thanksgiving card, but the impact it makes on an abused, abandoned, or displaced child is massive. It tells them: “You matter. Your joy matters. We are building a safe, fun world for you.”
We are requesting gift cards from: 5Below, Target, Walmart, Hobby Lobby, Michaels, Academy, Dollar Tree, Big Lots, Books-A-Million, Sam’s, United Grocery, local skating rinks, mini golf, bowling alleys, movie theaters, Pizza, Braum’s, McDonald’s, Chick-fil-A, United Grocery, Sonic, Dairy Queen, Taco Casa, Whataburger, & Amazon. Visa Gift cards in values of $25-50 for gifts
How you can wrap these kids in love today:
- Drop off or mail gift cards (Target, Walmart, Hobby Lobby, Five Below, Dollar Tree, Dollar General, Amazon, United Grocery Stores, clothing stores, shoe stores, fast food, or entertainment venues).
Children’s Aid Society of West Texas Inc.
1101 30th St.
Wichita Falls, Texas 76302
Give securely online at https://caswt.org/donate/ so our staff can purchase cards to meet immediate, urgent needs.
- Amazon Wish List: https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/4NG4G9JU71IA?ref=cm_sw_sm_r_wl_mw_Nsp7fWluj5Vt0
- Share this post to help us build a safety net of support this holiday season.
Thank you for showing these children that even in their hardest moments, they are surrounded by a community that cares. ✨🍁
#HopeAndHealing #FosterCare #YouthShelter #ThanksgivingDrive #CommunityCare #SupportOurYouth